Sequels in Dec. 2012

DEC 19, 2012
Gun control and Nash equilibrium

Discussion about gun control seems to be confused. The National Rifle Association claimed that some pop culture including video games or Hollywood movies bring violence.

The Wall Street Journal: NRA Blasts Video Games After Sandy Hook, Twitter Responds

I think it is ridiculous that gun providers blame materials including crime scene. If crime scene were to be restricted, the arms themselves are also to be prohibited. I would like to see more creative debate.


DEC 16, 2012
Concern about general election

General election resulted in the victory of Liberal Democratic Party, as most mass media predicted. Mr. Shinzou Abe became the prime minister. I wonder if he will restore the economy of Japan. Nonetheless I expect him.


DEC 11, 2012
American comics movies

I bought some BD about American comics movies. “The Dark Knight Trilogy” describing Batman is excellent! But they are so serious that I hardly watch it easily. I will make enough time to watch them completely.

DEC 9, 2012
What Madoka Magica tells us

I also read Madoka Magica comic books.

This series was written from the original scenario of TV animation. So the story completely copies the original one. I recommend it for beginners. English version is also available.

Amazon.com: Puella-Magi Madoka Magica Vol.1

Restriction in medical situation

I saw a decision paper of the Supreme Court of Japan about physical restriction of a patient in a hospital.

Ichinomiya Shintai-kosoku saiban shiryo (Resource of Ichinomiya restriction court case, in Japanese)

The case summary is below;
An old lady admitted to a hospital for medical treatment. Then she contracted a delirium, probably due to severe physical status and noisy environment. She tried to walk around and cried for help some time. So the nurses at work in the hospital putted mittens on her hands not to manipulate any medical devices.
The patient  felt humiliated after that. So she and her family sued the hospital for violation of human rights.

The first decision of a Distinct Court rejected the complaint of the plaintiff. However the Higher Court judged the restriction by the hospital staff to be illegal. This decision affected medical organizations widely.

And at last, the Supreme Court rejected the complaint of the plaintiff again.

Restriction in medical situation is a complicated problem. As a practitioner of mental health, I believe that restriction is inevitable in some cases to protect the patients and bystanders. Of course, restriction itself is a evil behavior essentially. Excessive restriction must be prohibited. But there are some court decisions that treatment without restriction, result in an accident of the patient, was medically inappropriate. If in similar cases restrictions were authorized to be illegal, medical practitioner would hardly offer treatment for the patients with danger of delirium. Moreover,  aging is rapidly progressive in Japanese society. The cases that an aged patient falls in a hospital will be increasing.

I deny blind restriction. However medical safety must be discussed in multiple angles.

Well, there is a legislation about restriction in mental hospital. But there is no legal rule about it in general hospital in Japan. It is another problem, I think.

Cassandra’s curse

Cassandra is a woman in Greek mythology.
She was a prophet with mystic power and she was able to predict any disasters which would attack Greek.
However, she was cursed by Apollo. Due to Apollo’s curse, nobody believed her prophecy. So she was censured as an agitator, and ended in tragedy.

Cassandra’s curse is common even in the modern era.
When one person expects a bad outcome about a project, there are two results to be assumed. If everybody did not believe the expectation, the project would fail. They would recognize the correctness of the expectation, but too late. On the other hand, if everybody believed the expectation, they would try to avoid the failure. Then when the project completed in success, they would blame the prophet for too much worrying about this.

This episode tells us about the essential risk in risk assessment itself. Statistic evidences are indispensable to analyze the fact without being emotional.

Three factors make us work

What do you think if you quit your job?

I think it is an essential question for most of the people.

Many people might agree to quit their job if the same income were guaranteed. But the fact is a little different.
In Japan regulation about dismissal is so strict that companies must use a trick to make troubled employees quit their job. One idea is “stay home order”. The boss ordered the targeted employee to stay at home without work. He has nothing to do and get a salary. It is a paradise, isn’t it? No. The employee who lost his own work tends to quit voluntarily.
This case explains the importance of the work itself.

To work is to earn money. It is no doubt. But it is not absolute matter.

I think that there are three reasons why human works other than for money.

The first reason is “fun”.
Many energetic or even workaholic people enjoy their work. Working is the reward for them. They often regard their work as a game. Good company makes the employee play an exciting game.

The second is “self-development”.
Some people are struggling in extremely hard work. Resident doctors also must be patient. We must overcome the stage to develop ourselves to be professional. Working is an investment. Good company offers the employees some valuable investments.

The last one is “contribution”.
I think this is the most difficult to obtain for work. Every work is to contribute others. It is obvious, as others pay the reward for work. But we often forget this simple matter. We cannot see the importance of contribution when we are really poor. To be conscious about contribution, we must be satisfied the first. So, good company satisfies the employees, and then teaches them about the contribution.

Which is your reason to work for others?
And does your company offer the three factors?

Trilemma of reports

We sometimes get angered against report by mass media.

Said, "The contents are ridiculous! It must be incorrect."

Or have you ever thought that it was too late that the government or a company revealed certain information?

Actually, every report has some disadvantages.

More logically, there is a trilemma about reports.

The three elements are "quickness", "accuracy", and "simplicity".

No document can commit all of this three elements perfectly.

When you inform some people about an accident or a disaster, you will try to let them know the matter as soon as possible. The speed is prior. And the information is simplified. You have no time to examine the information deeply. As a result, the report can be less precise. Several Demagogie, or false rumors tend to occur in disastrous situation. We must accept it to get fast information.

In Japan, Twitter or other social media reported many information in 3.11 earthquake and Tsunami disaster. They were very helpful but included a lot of false rumors. They were to be examine after that. And few false rumor survive until now.

On the other hand, afterwards report must be precise. Much time was spent to investigate the contents of this kind of report. So the final report is to be delayed. It is also acceptable.

Statement of accounts of a company is a nice example. If it were incorrect even only in detail, a severe legal problem would occur.

And a precise report is not easy to read. No one can explain a complicated matter as a simple one. Academic reports are difficult to understand because they take much account of scientific correctness.

Some bestsellers about how to make money are easy-reading. But we seldom learn something valuable with them. Too simplified article omit the fact to be learned.

You must always consider what is your goal when you seek a report. Fast information? Deep knowledge? Or an outline about this matter? You also have to guess the author's intention of which factor is regarded as important.

Distribution of taxi fee

Imagine a situation that you take a taxi to go home. Some of your colleagues are together. Of course your houses are different from each other. But it is economical to share a taxi since the directions are the same.
Then, what is the best way to distribute fees for taxi?

This problem is frequently asked in real world. And I have also heard in elementary school class of mathematics such as below:

“Three persons, Mr. A, Mr. B and Mr. C are going to share a taxi to go home. The driveway is assumed to be straight. Mr. A’s home is 10km from here. Mr. B’s home is 10km from Mr. A’s home. Mr. C’s home is 10km from Mr. B’s home. Taxi fee is $10 every 10km. How much do each person must pay?”

The standard answer is that;
“Total cost for 30km driving is $30. This has to be distributed to 3 persons according to their riding distance. Mr. A rides in 10km, Mr. B 20km, and Mr. C 30km. So fair costs are, $5, $10, and $15, respectively.”

This answer is logically correct. But it is not practical. To adopt this method, we have to know the total fee in advance. It is not realistic.
So I recommend the second method.

The three persons share the taxi in first 10km. So the fee for this distance is to be distributed equally, $3.3 each other. And the second 10km are shared by Mr. B and Mr. C. Two must pay $5 each other. The last 10km is occupied by Mr. C. So he must pay $10 alone. After all, total fees of each person are, Mr. A $3.3, Mr. B $8.3, and Mr. C $18.3, respectively.

However, this method forces Mr. C to owe harder burden, compared to the previous one. It is not logically wrong but hardly acceptable for some people. If the driveway is not straight, the problem is more complicated. Mr. C must take longer time to go home than taking a taxi alone. It is much painful for him.

Indeed I usually pay the taxi fee a little much more than regulated for younger colleagues. It is not logical, but a social behavior.

Christmas cakes and Japanese trait

Today, I visited Imperial Hotel Tokyo.

http://www.imperialhotel.co.jp/e/
(Website of Imperial Hotel)

Japan is now in Christmas events. There are Christmas trees everywhere. The main hall of Imperial Hotel Tokyo is not an exception.

And today “Sweets Art Exhibition” is ongoing. I watched several huge cakes imitating Christmas scenes. How beautiful and sweet!

But it will be ended after 25th Dec.

Japanese Christmas events are very fantastic but, rapidly vanish after Christmas day. This characteristics as both temporary rising and immediately shrink after the peak were compared to sexual reaction of men by Mr. Miso Suzuki, a reporter cartoonist in Japan. According to him, St. Christmas Eve is day of sex in Japan, whereas it is day of happy home in western countries.

Indeed, Japanese has tendency to be excited rapidly and to forget it soon after that. It is a national trait of Japanese.
Japan was attacked by many disasters historically. Ancestors overcame them one by one without abandon Japan. They were very patient I guess. And patience may be accompanied by forgetfulness.

Kindle Fire has come

I was waiting for a long time. At last, Amazon Kindle Fire HD has been delivered to my home!

I bought Amazon Kindle 3 (now Kindle Keyboard) from Amazon USA 2 years ago. And it was favorite gadget of mine. Recently I got Kindle Paperwhite, the first Kindle localized to Japan. Unfortunately, it is not completely satisfactory for me because of some disadvantage, such as limited volume of storage.
However Kindle Fire HD is splendid. The display is quite beautiful. Touch screen works very well. I can also listen to music or audiobooks with this.

But there is an anxiety about Kindle in Japan.
As I mentioned, I expect greatly to future of e-book. However the growth of electronic books market is very slowly in Japan. Kobo, an e-book reader made by Rakuten is suffering from low reputation of customers and sluggish increasing the number of contents. Sony Reader is also struggling. One of the reasons is conservativeness of Japanese publishers for e-pub, I guess.
Amazon also has not started service of newspapers, magazines or movies yet in Japan.

Of course book of paper has unique attractiveness. But young people tend to read light novels or Manga with their mobile phones. The change from analog to digital is approaching fast, I think. The problem is when it comes.

Gun control and Nash equilibrium

The USA government was shaken by a mass shooting case happened in Dec. 14 in Connecticut.

Reuters: Connecticut gun rampage: 28 dead, including 20 schoolchildren

According to the reports, the offender killed his mother and went to an elementary school, to shoot children. Twenty-six persons including 20 children were sacrificed. It is the most tragic massacre case in the USA.

The USA society is relatively tolerant for citizens to have a gun. Now the Brady gun control law requires licensed gun dealers to examine buyers not to sell guns to drug abusers or mentally ill persons. But this legislation hardly prevents gun crimes, I think. Severely mentally ill person cannot buy a gun whether the legal restriction exists or not. On the other hand, a person with deep menace can easily disguise his status.

In the USA there are debates whether gun control should be strengthened or not.

The New York Times: Debate on Gun Control Is Revived, Amid a Trend Toward Fewer Restrictions

Of course gun sellers will oppose to strengthen the restriction. Some libertarians are likely to claim that they have a right to protect themselves with their own.

In Japan, possession of arms is strictly restricted traditionally. I have not ever seen a real gun or even Samurai sword. Japan has strengthened the regulation more strict about possession of knives since 2007. I remember that was enforced after a criminal case with a knife.

How is the difference between two countries?

It is logically explained with Nash equilibrium.

The Nash equilibrium is invented by Jon F Nash, a mathematician. It means that each player of the game has no alternative to improve their interests. In a situation of Nash equilibrium, we hardly make any changes.

Wikipedia: Nash equilibrium

In Japan, there was no gun in modern society. If someone wants to possess a gun, he will be blamed heavily by other people. So it is reasonable that we all continue to adhere the regulation of gun control law.
In the USA, guns are used historically. If everyone wants to eliminate guns, the first person drops his gun must take a risk to be shot. Since outlaw is the last person to drop a gun, innocent people tend to get severe disadvantage. After all, nobody can drop guns.

The situation may be not so simple. Nonetheless it is possible that historical background that was occurred by chance makes the current issue complicated. And this is one of the reasons why we hardly import the idea born in foreign country easily.


*sequel

Exception overcomes the rule

All rules have exception.

This self-paradoxical epigram is very famous. We must always be careful to decide whether the rule should be adapted to current situation. This work is hardly done by a computer. Be flexible. Otherwise we would be replaced to computer easily.

However, the rule that include too much exception in it will not work correctly.

Imagine a driveway in Japan. Regulated speed is 40 km/h in a city area. But nobody adhere this regulation. If you handle a car with 40km/h, you would be blamed by any other drivers. On the other hand, maximum speed of bicycle is not limited. So you can ride a bicycle with over 200 km/h legitimately, if possible!
It is an example that exception may overcome the rule.

In general, the rule or legislation is established to protect interest or safety of weak people. So when people other than predicted are adapted to the rule, the intention of the rule would be twisted. It is sometimes criticized that rich people get advantage of extra financial aid for medicine. It means that redistribution of estate that is one of function of government is abused.

In medical care field there is a lot of exception. It is quite natural since human bodies vary one another. Moreover we are always annoyed by personal information protection policy. As a principle, we are not allowed to tell information of the patient to other people, even their family without permission of the patient. But this rule is hardly adhered. When the patient cannot visit hospital for some reason, we have to consult his or her family, even prescribe some medicine to deliver it to the patient. This kind of behavior is not so evil, but we must be aware to our behavior and the meaning of it in legal context.

In my sense, rate of exception should be lower than 5%. And when the rate reached to 30%, the system itself will be collapsed. Before the critical point we should examine the rule and change it with correct method.

Conveyor belt sushi, not bad.

Today I went to "Kura-sushi", a Conveyor belt sushi nearby my home. The store was reformed recently and is always crowded.

http://www.kura-corpo.co.jp/eng/
(The website of Kura corporation)

Sushi is a soul food for Japanese. I like sushi the best of Japanese cuisine.
Traditionally, sushi is communication itself between the guests and the chef. “Itamae”, sushi specialized chef cooks sushi with his own hands in front of the guests, making conversation with guests. Traditional Japanese loved sushi so much that making sushi was a kind of art and also compared to dead-or-alive battle.

Traditional sushi is very expensive. Famous sushi restaurants even do not display the price of sushi set. The guest has to pay any amount of money that the chef presented. The system requires good partnership between the guests and the chef. Famous chef did not work for strangers, historically.

However the era has changed.

About 50 years ago, Conveyor belt sushi born in Japan. In such kind of stores, you will sit by the counter, which equips a belt conveyor. You need not ask for your order. you only take the dishes streaming in front of you. There are a lot of sushi-rolls upon the dishes streaming one after another. The choice is yours.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conveyor_belt_sushi
(Wikipedia: Conveyor belt sushi)

This style of sushi is innovative for some reasons.
You eat anything very quickly. Indeed, the sushi has been made already! You do not need to hesitate to order one. Chefs can concentrate to make sushi, without talking to guests. So visiting time of guests is to be very shorter than traditional style. Above all, Conveyor belt sushi also rotate the guests quickly. And rotate rate is very important for administration of restaurant.
They make great effort to offer cheap and fresh meal. The cost you should pay is about one-tenth of the traditional sushi restaurant. Besides, the taste is not so bad.
There are a lot of choices in Conveyor belt sushi. You will eat 7 to 10 dishes when you are hungry. Variation of menu is one of advantages.

Recently, stores of Conveyor belt sushi invent many original sushi-rolls. Traditional sushi is made from rice and fish or shellfish. But newly sushi includes even beef, pork, chicken, avocado or other vegetables. Hamburg sushi is popular for children. Besides sushi, we can eat other light meals such as chinese noodles, chicken bowl, or some sweets. Modern Conveyor belt sushi is likely to theme park of the meal. Perhaps they aim to get more family customers.

I have visited some time at Conveyor belt sushi also in foreign countries, such as London, Hong Kong or Munich. They also offer variable menu. Good job!

But I do not recommend buying a sushi set at a convenience store. It is no good either in Japan or in foreign countries. Freshness is the first priority of sushi, I think.

Concern about general election

Today general election of lower house was performed in Japan.

Now adding up of the vote is carrying out. According to NHK, national broadcasting, the result will be the one-sided victory of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). LDP is doubling the number of seats and ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) lost many seats. Japan Restoration Party won seats to some degree but it is not amazing.

This result was predicted by several mass media. So I am not surprised. What is surprising is the low vote rate. According to Asahi Shinbun, the vote rate will be less than 60%, it is the minimum in history of Japan after WWII.
We have many arguments around this election. Nuclear power plant, consumption tax, Trans-pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP), diplomacy, and so on. Basic polities of major parties differ from each other. Compared to past election, it must be easy to vote for one party which is suitable to our own interest. I feel that political discussion has rose in internet forums actively.
However vote rate is low.

Vote rate tend to decrease in winter. The weather is not so good in some region.
But maybe the biggest reason of low vote rate is the boring of citizens for national politics.

In 2009, long lasting (over 50 years!) ruling of LDP had ended by general election. DPJ tried to change the structure of policy-making system, replaced LDP. But they failed. Indeed some reforms are accomplished; nonetheless, most citizens were critical to DPJ.
I guess not a few people abandon his own power to change Japan through voting. It is very sorry.
Vote rate itself is not essential matter, as I wrote in the past. If concern about politics of the people is decreasing, it is a serious problem.


*sequel

Examination

Today, I worked in the university I belong to as an examiner of school of medicine.

Japanese medical student has duty to pass several exams to get physician license. Before starting clinical clerkship program they learned about medical interview skill.
So we establish a committee to evaluate their skill and perform general examination (Objective Structured Clinical Examination; OSCE). I observed conversation between a trainee and a simulated patient in ten minutes and scored their performance according to grading standard fixed in advance.
The exam is highly structured and well developed. We made use of clinical skills center newly build. To avoid cheating, students are not allowed to equip mobile phone, and even if to get out until the exam ended. The memorandum they described is to be used at the next exam about writing medical record. To certificate equality of the students the process of exams is determined so strictly that valiance was minimized. We took good care of performing fair exams.

But, what is good examination is not a simple problem.
Obviously, the answer is different between selective examination and certifying examination.

The former, we regard fairness as very important matter. It is not good at all that some students have advantage upon others. Students differs one another, in age, sex, race, estate, and so on. The standard of selection should only due to his or her skills or intelligence. Otherwise the exam itself has no value.

However, certifying examination is not a competition. This kind of exam is to assess the student. When the student has specialized skill to be worth of a license he or she should pass the exam. Then it is a problem that what kind of skill is to be assessed.
For example physician license is very specialized privilege in Japan. To get the license you must enter medical school and learn about medical science for 6 years. Finally after graduating from medical school you must pass the national examination. But the skill of doctor is not the same to passing the exam. It is problem solving skill. It includes communication with patient, observation of the patient deeply, to hypothesize about what is wrong with the body and mind of the patient, and treatment. They are hardly assessed with an examination. On the other hand, if the physician has very few knowledge, when he are intimate with other authorities, he can consult another one. Human resource is one of real power for a physician. Nowadays social network enabled us to ask for help. So skills to use several tools are also important.

Traditional examination style in Japan is going to be out of fashion. I hear that searching via internet is allowed during exams in Denmark.

We have to consider new style of examination suitable to modern world.

Power to ignore

We need power to ignore in the newly age of internet.
In Japan it is so called as “through-power” or “power of insensibility.”

Modern era is very information-rich. There is much information about everything. Some are helpful and others are dangerous or simply wrong. So we must choose correct information suitable to our own situation.
Moreover, prosperity of social networking has changed the way to deal with information. Now we can connect directly to Mr. Barak Obama with Twitter. When you ask a question via internet, you can get some advises from professionals immediately. We can easily declare our opinion about politics or more severe matter to the world. The world is extremely narrowing.

However too much connection bring some disadvantages. Over-connection itself is one of the problems.
If you are famous person, you should be very careful to write a blog or twitter. After you wrote some kind of contents that blame other people, you may get criticized by anonymous with loud and ugly voice. You should never write your experience about a minor offence you committed in younger age. It is possible that someone find the record and tell it to your boss.

But absolute defence is nonsense. Every comment that has suggestive theme has power to raise emotion of others. So it is inevitable that some people read it to get angered. Too much fearful about this, you have nothing to write. When you see a negative comment with aggressive manners as a feedback of your entry, ignore and forget this.

Kanji of the year

The Kanji of the year is determined today.

“Kanji of the year” is an event that the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation has performed every year since 1995. The foundation chooses a Kanji from collected candidate that is most likely to express this year.
Kanji is Chinese letter also used in Japan. They have some meanings in each one.
The one of this year is read as “kin” or “kane,” both meanings are differ from each other.

“Kin” means “gold.” Japan won the most Gold Medals ever in London Olympic. The players gave all Japanese great courage. Moreover, Mr Shinya Yamanaka got Novel Prize for his excellent research about iPS cells. It is also honorable.

On the other hand, “kane” means “money.” In 2012, some discussion about money occurred in Japan. Consumption tax was decided to be raised. It is criticized that the mother of a famous talent had received national welfare payment. The most notable issue about next election is national financial polity. Most Japanese has ideology that a person too much concerned about earning money is despicable. So the word “kane” has negative impression.

Some people suggest the third meaning about Kanji of the year. It is the family name of Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of North Korea. To be strange, today North Korea reported that they launched a new rocket successfully today. Tension between North Korea and Neighboring countries has strengthened.

Kanji of the year is humorous and ironic. How about the next year?

American comics movies

I like movies based on American comic heroes. X-men, Batman, Spiderman, and the Avengers series are all fun of me.

As far as know, the vast majority of the Japanese underestimated charm of American comics, at least since 2000s. Superman is the only one American comic movie I remember in 20 centuries. We recognized that Superman was a hero for children, not for adults. Many Japanese had an image that American comics were very simple and shallow, in which the superhero had absolute power and goodwill and overcame the villain. I was no exception.

However, in my high school age, I knew that one story of batman dealt with Plea agreement. In an English textbook, I read that the fact that some American comics were so well considered that children could learn about problems in American society was not known well also in the USA. Then I was interested in American comics.

Still now I seldom read American comics. There are a lot of numbers of comic books and we hardly get a complete series in Japan. Few Japanese read the original comic book, I guess.
But the movies have changed this situation. Modern SFX development enabled to show the incredible power of heroes on the screen. The storylines are enough complicated to amuse adult viewers. Nowadays a lot of people in Japan enjoy the battle of American heroes.

Newest American comic movie, “The Avengers” was advertised with an aggressive copy, said, “Hey Japan, this is the movie!” It encourages Japanese movie fans and also provokes movie makers. Cinema industry is suffering from decreasing of income now. I hope movie makers make more exciting one.

*sequel

The Dictator Switch, my favorite story of Draemon

I believe you know Draemon, a famous comic character in Japan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doraemon_(2005_anime)
(Wikipedia)

http://dora-world.com/top.html
(Official website of Draemon Movies: in Japanese)

He is a cat-type robot came from future with time-machine. He always helps Nobita, a poor boy, using his secret items invented in future.
He has a lot of secret items. Above all I like “The Dictator Switch” the best.

I read this episode in my childhood. The storyline is below:
Nobita was annoyed by his collegues. He ask Draemon to punish them. Draemon gave him a magical item, called “The Dictator Switch.” Draemon said that when the user pushed the switch it would eliminate the person whom he wanted to destroy.
Nobita pushed the switch with a hope to destroy Gian, a bully. Immediately Gian got lost, and the world reconstructed as if Gian had not existed. Nobita was pleased once. But Suneo, one of underling of Gian, acted as a bully, instead of Gian. The circumstance did not change.
Nobita got angered, and eliminated people one after another, using the switch. Even Sizuka, Nobita’s sweetheart, was destroyed because of slight misunderstanding. Finally Nobita despaired completely, and he pushed the switch with crying, “Everyone, be gone!”
Nobita stood on a town alone. He regretted absolutely. Then Draemon came. He said to Nobita, “The Dictator Switch was created to teach a dictator a good lesson. Do you get understood that everyone around you is indispensable?” Nobita nodded and everything restored.

This is a child story but very suggestive. Have you ever wanted to push The Dictator Switch? If you exclude a person you dislike then you will must do the same thing in the next situation. Elimination will be repeated. After all you will become alone.

To tell the truth, a series of X-MEN movies has the same theme. I will tell you this in another opportunity.

What Madoka Magica tells us

I am watching the animation of Puella Magi Madoka-Magica with Blue Ray Discs bought in Taipei.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a famous animation TV series created in Japan in 2011. Last autumn it was remade into theater movie. Translated versions are also released.

Wikipedia: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Amazon.com: Puella Magi Madoka Magica DVD/Blu-ray 1 (Hyb) Limited Edition with CD (2012)

About this great work many people say comments. So I have only one point to be mentioned. It is an important matter for us, especially in professionals aiding other people.

In the story, puella magi are made from pray. And witches are made from the curse. Both are two sides of the same coin. When a puella magi, who has been praying for other people strongly, turn into witch, she will curse other people on the same degree.

We have also the same problem. We hope to help other people, even if our effort would not be rewarded. It is very noble behavior. But excessive effort and attempt in vain will make us tired. When too tired and exhausted, we tend to be ironic. We will deny the situation around us. It is the curse.

Some people burn out after self-sacrifice and change his mind. It is very sorry. We must be careful about the goodwill of ours. Sometimes you need admiration, reward, and respect, even though you are good.

Personal Rating: 5 (excellent)
*Sequel

Illumination at Tokyo Midtown

How beautiful it is!

Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi is filled with atmosphere of Christmas.

It is cold day today, but there are a lot of people around trees.

After 3.11 Tsunami disaster and accident of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, we must save electronic energy. A lot of companies started saving electricity and Tokyo got darken. However excessive saving makes us discouraged. Special days are to be celebrated even if in severe situation.

What you do not do

In election week, what disgusts me is dreamy talk by politicians.

Said, “We promise hopeful future in Japan!”, “We carry out admirable policies!”, and “We will accomplish both growth of success, decreasing of tax, and fulfilled welfare!
Indeed dream is necessary. But they sound incredible for me.
Economic growth, decrease of tax, and fulfilled welfare are a kind of trilemma. To develop industry and get high economic status, we must accept competition. Both winner and loser would be born. Then, if we save poor people, it is necessary to increase tax for redistribution of the estates. To attach greater importance to deal all people equal will allow some lazy people and decrease total creativity.

All politicians claim they can do everything. Propriety of their policies can not seen in their manifestoes. It annoys me.

It is important to make decision what is postponed.
Past candidate of the president of USA, Mr. Mitt Romney, declared that he was not concern about welfare for poverty. He thought that to encourage normal or relatively rich people was the first priority for USA. His though was not accepted by US citizen. But I think he is a brave and responsible man at least.

It is the same thing about individual matter.
We sometimes hear that “Your life is once and unique. Live your own life! Do the thing what you want to do the best!” I agree with this. However it is difficult to know what is the best thing to be done by you. On the other hand, it is rather easy to know what the worst is.
I recommend you to make a list what you do not want to do. The absolutely last thing of the list is your own job.

General election is approaching

General election is coming in Japan. It will be 16th Dec. Now, many politicians are appealing their policy.
There are some points of political debate. Nowadays Japan is suffering from severe recession with chronic deflation. Some economists say it is due to a strong yen. So Mr. Shinzou Abe, the president of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), claims that Bank of Japan must intervene in financial market more actively. Prime Minister Mr. Yoshihiko Noda in ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) opposes this idea.

LDP was ruling Diet in Japan for a long time until 2009. The opinions of politicians in LDP are relatively conservative. They tend to take account of traditional Japanese culture. On the other hand, DPJ is more liberal. Policy of DPJ includes establishment of right to vote by foreigners living in Japan. So DPJ are hated by nationalists.

The third power was born recently. Nippon Ishin-no-kai, (Japan Restoration Party, JRP) is a party whose president is Mr. Shintaro Ishihara, past Governor of Tokyo. JRP was originally made by Mr. Toru Hashimoto, the Governor of Osaka city. Mr. Ishihara resigned the Governor of Tokyo in Nov. 2012 and established his own Party, “Party of the Sun (PoS).” However PoS immediately joined JRP.
Mr. Toru Hashimoto is very radical politician. He is very famous but has a lot of foes. Mr. Ishihara is also supported by vast people. Whether the two giants can cooperate with each other is a important point.

LDP, DPJ and JRP vary in their policies. So voters have to consider deeply about which is to be elected. The next election is very interesting.

However, regardless which is chosen, I have a pessimistic prospect about the future of Japan. Japan has some critical problems hardly to be solved by political power.

Journey in Taiwan

Last weekend, I went to Taipei in Taiwan for a fun.

Taiwan is one of the nearest nations from Japan. It takes about 4hours from Tokyo. From Okinawa, it takes only 1 hour.

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is very wide and has modern structure. It has developed as a hub of Asia. There is a lot of duty free shop in it. Unfortunately I had no enough time to look around them.

http://www.taoyuan-airport.com/
(Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport)

However, when I got out of the airport, I saw a crowd of people waiting for a shuttle bus to Taipei city. Maybe, number of vehicles is not enough to move into the capital city smoothly. I had to let 3 buses go past to ride on.

It was heavy rainy day. Actually, through the journey it rained continuously. In winter it rains much more in Taiwan than in Tokyo, according to a travel guidebook. I was correct to carry a handy umbrella from Japan.

Taipei gourmet is splendid! I went to “Din Tai Fung” the most famous restaurant as Xiaolongbao (eastern Chinese steamed bun) provider. Very delicious! Xiaolongbao includes soup in it. It is not too hot and has good taste.

http://www.dintaifung.com.tw/tw/default.htm
(Website of Din Tai Fung)

Besides it, I have eaten very nice meals in Taiwan.

Taipei is also famous as a city of IT. I visited Guang Hua Digital Plaza. It is a large building with several floors occupied by a total of 200 electric stores. The atmosphere was similar to Akihabara electric town in Tokyo.
I bought blue-ray discs of “Puella Magi Madoka Magica.” I am so satisfied to get them.

Overall, Taiwanese were all very kind and friendly. I am really thankful to them.

Gunosy, an excellent e-curator

Today I will introduce a web-based curation service.

“Curation” may be an unfamiliar word for most people. Indeed I had heard it in a book last year for the first time. It is “The Age of Curator” written by Mr. Toshinao Sasaki.

Amazon.co.jp: The Age of Curator (in Japanese)

Mr. Toshinao Sasaki is a freelance journalist and a curator. He use his own twitter account (@sasakitoshinao) and he introduce several valuable information via twitter every morning.

Originally, the word “curator” is used to show a person who work in a museum of library and administer materials and resources belongs to the institution. However recently a person who collect information and extract valuable ones from it is also called curator.

Modern world is full of information. So to distinguish and rank them is important skill. Newly curators is so called a guide of the ocean of information.

Now, there are several internet services of curation. Using them enable us to get information of high quality for free. I like “Gunosy” the best of them.

Gunosy

To use Gunosy, you need only the account of Twitter or Facebook. Gunosy automatically investigates your timeline. According to the result of analysis Gunosy recommend a total 20 of webpages that may be curious for you every day. For my impression, selection of Gunosy is very precise. So I can read my own e-magazine edited for me.

Not so long time have passed since newly curator was born. But it is going to be replaced by computer.

Recognize your minimal advantages

Self-development is one of buzzwords in modern society.
In Japan a lot of books referring to self-development are published every month. Some of them become best seller, and fade out.
I think a charm of self-development is to shows you a hope. Said, “You are stupid now, but, you will be genius if you do as I tell you!” So you have a hope to become another than you.

In fact, you are yourself. I am myself. It is impossible to become another person, develop another talent all at once, or change your mind completely.

When you yield to despair, it is not recommended to read a self-development book, nor make decision to change yourself.
Rather seeing you simply would be better.
Do not create a new hope. Recognize a present hope in front of you.

Maybe my voice sounds similar to self-development. It is right to some extent. But the difference is important.
They say, “every person has own advantages. Feel your power! Believe your unique strength!”
Unfortunately, it is not correct, I think. A person is not unique at all. Someone else is better than you.

However, “minimal strength” is reasonable.

Every person does not have their own unique talent. But everyone has normal power. It is not ignorable. For example, I have never experienced insomnia. I can sleep whenever I want to do. It is not special talent at all. But it makes me some minor strength. It is an advantage for me.
Look around you about your daily life. Cooking, cleaning, writing, moving, speaking, and so on. You could not do well. But when you do as normal, It is your minimal advantage. Make account of it.

Time revolution

There are 3 major revolutions in the history of humankind.

The first is agricultural revolution. About 12,000 years ago our ancestors began to make plants to eat them, instead of hunting. It made possible for a lot of people to survive without hunger.

The second is industrial revolution from 1750 to 1850. People invented many innovative tools with steam power. They also created the rule of the law, transportation systems, and capitalism. The modern civilization has developed in this era.

And the third revolution is information revolution that is now going on. We can use telegraph, fax, mobile phone, and internet. I can write this entry and publish it for all over the world via Google!

So what is the next revolution?

It is very difficult to predict. I have only vague image in it.

I think it is the TIME.

Time shifting is already common. Border of nation is lowered. The world is narrowing. In several jobs adapted age become extremely younger. Early retirement has been a trend in new-riches. But human lifespan is expanding. What do you do in the end stage of life?

In the next era, definition of time will be changed.

Common sense in elder people is no longer useful. The world is going to asymmetric. Each persons are to live their own lives alone. Value of the time will be various. Perhaps eternal life or reincarnation would be available.

Everything is changing.

Besides, what is the thing not to be changed?