A semiretired pediatrician living in a countryside in Japan will describe what he thinks of his hobbies, life and the events around himself.
8/12/2025
Chicken seasoned with miso and salted rice malt
8/11/2025
A memory of the orchestra camp half a century ago
This is not a credible memory but I had my cello broken during one of the camps. That might be at a camp other than this place. Anyway, I had to bring the cello to exchange to another back to Tokyo. I was not caring about what to wear etc and was wearing "geta". At the station, my friends were farewelling me singing ”Grandfather's Clock". With a substitute cello, I used to get back to the camp on a night train on the return. Eary in the morning the day after, the train almost arriving at the station of the camping site, the valley has extened in morning mist, so serene and beautiful. I could not forget the scene.
8/10/2025
Tim VK3IM passed away
Last night, I have received an e mail from Dit HS0ZQE telling Tim VK3IM passed away 3 days ago. It was an expected news but still a sad one which brought me a big loss in my mind.
I have met him first in '60s when he was VK3AZY. After a long pause of QRT for 10 years, when I came back on the radio at the dormitory of a med school hospital in 1980, I started talking to him quite often. As I wrote in the other posts regarding him, he was commuting between Mt. Eliza, a suburb of Melbourne, and Melbourne.
On the way back home from his office, he often operated /M on his old Mazda. It was equipped with a home brew whip with a big loading coil and a top hat capacitor. I came back to the dorm after a busy day work. We started chatting on 40m CW. My antenna was only a vertical on the roof. But around or a bit after the sunset, the grey line path enabled us enjoy chatting for some time. Despite of having a kind of introverted character in a sense, he was a sociable experienced ham. He always enjoyed chatting friends world wide. It was amazing he used to work with Europe via long path on 40m or even on 80m from that tiny mobile station. I still remember his fast CW on a bit chirpy signal. That chirp was a kind of fascinating to me.
We shared old friends together such as Harry G3ATH, formerly 9V1MT in '60s, VK4CC, VK3XU and many more. We have not run out topics to talk about especially on good old days. It was an unforgettable QSO when he told me about his mother passing away. When he came home, he found her dead on a locking chair on the veranda. What a shock it was for him! We have talked for more than 3 hours, I believe. On the other time, he told me how he was washing cloths at home. He didn't have a washing machine and washed them in the bath tub. It was a fun to imagine him doing that. He used to visit Ara VK1ARA, one of my old friends in teen age days, in Canberra on a winter holidays. Ara was JA1RHL in the same town as I started radio and, later, managed a Japanese restaurant in Canberra those days. I don't know why but he could not see him in person and came home all alone. I bet he was hesitating to see him in eye ball. What a shy guy!
I might have recorded parts of our chats in the log. I should reopen those old logs.
When he reached home in Mt. Eliza, he often told me to hold on. He used to say " I would bring the radio into the house and, together with a glass of vermouth, go into the shack. Let's carry it on!".
With him passing away now, those good old days have belong to the memories in the past, which I could never reach again any longer. In his latest years, he has suffered from cause unknown illness of pain, which he should use opiates to relieve from. Without his beloving hobby at the nursing home, what days of grief he has had to spend! Now he is free from those agonizing time on the earth. I have lost an irreplaceable companion in the journey of life. I would, however, say "you have lived a good life in your way and take good rest in heaven now".
About 40 years ago, Tim on the bonnet of old Mazda.
8/02/2025
Decoration of the administrative data leads to...
When the administration intentionally sugarcoats, decorates or even hides the administrative data like labor statistics, it means the administration is destroying the country. Such administrative data is important because it is the basis to eavaluate the effects of certain administrative policy. Without the administrative data based on facts, the effects of any policy could never be evaluated. Then, the politics and administration would become a typical autocracy.
An example of such case in the history is the end of USSR. Most autocratic countries are still committing the same mistakes/faults. It is the people who would suffer most from sch administration, I am afraid. It would take a long time to recover credits from losing it with such manipulation.
This news is really shocking to me. The USA has been a country of democracy and righteous as well as fair administration in the past. It seems, however, to undergo a drastic change toward autocracy in this respect.
8/01/2025
Midsummer
7/31/2025
A trivial trouble, still serious one for me
As wrote in the previous post, I tried to listen to Beethoven's last three sonatas in bed last night.
Alas, in the 2nd movement of Arietta of Nr32, the most impressive movement, the CD abruptly ran abnormally. The same phrase has repeated endlessly. I asked myself if this CD had also undergone another aging issue. It is the CD of the last three piano sonatas played by Horzsowsky manufactured in Austria in 1991. A 34 year old one! So far, it is the best rendition of these sonatas for me. The cover triumphantly says it is digitally remastered. Remastering could not do with aging?! It must be no longer in production. I felt to be told to set up music distribution through the internet.
I thought I still could fight with the situation. Watching the disc surface carefully, I found tiny dust ball there. I cleaned it away with a soft cloth. It has worked. The CD has run without any trouble this time.
I have kept the disc within the player for several days. The CD must have got that dust there. The CD case is a much safer place to keep CD, I knew now. And cleaning the surface from time to time may be necessary for uneventful playing and for the player itself as well.
This CD is really a treasure for me. I was much relieved to have it work again with such simple procedure!
7/30/2025
Beethoven's last piano sonatas
The heat wave is so bad that it is almost impossible for me to work while sun is high in the sky. Luckily, the weeds won't grow too fast in this hot season and I won't be hassled with them so much.
Five days ago, it was father's 106th birthday. Working in the farm and garden in morning and early evening, I recalled of him having done the same thing here decades ago. As reiterated in this blog before, he has been deprived of his young days by the war. He was blessed, however, living with family members at this place in stead of that critical life threatening period in his young days.
Comparing to his life, what would happen to me?, I often asked myself. It is unlikely that such as the WWII father used to endure in his young days would happen to me so far. In my young days, it was an uneventful time for myself as well as our country. I have spent such a happy young days with ham radio, music and study in medicine. However, something serious is surely approaching to us without any apparent preceding sign, I feel. With the governmental debt being increased in astronomically large amount, they are still going on military expansion. Certain proportion of mass is approving it. Not too far before it gets bankrupted. A lot of people will suffer from that. Those living on pension including myself may be confronted with difficulties soon.
It might be a never experienced hardship, even qualitatively different, comaprable to father's time in WWII.
Thinking of such a thing and own personal failures in my life, I often could not fall asleep. My wife may say it is due to too much nap in the day time. Anyway, in such a case, I always listen to beloving music. One of them is this latest piano sonata by Beethoven. Horszowsky is weaving a relieving as well as soothing world with his warm touched piano. I often go through the last 3 sonatas at one time. They sure remind me of the last chapter of Jean Christophe by Romain Rolland. The days to be born. In my young days, it was only a time of imagination. It is becoming a reality for me for now.
7/25/2025
Responsibility as a perpetrator to neighbor countries in WWII
The 80th anniversary of defeat in WWII is coming soon. There will be a lot of papers or broadcasting programs against war publicated in mass media. Most of them are based on the experiences of Japanese people as sufferers or victims in WWII. It is worth leaving their words on record for the future generation. It is, however, only one aspect of the war.
Having invaded and perpetrated to the neighbor countries, especially, China, is the other aspect of the war for us. Of course, it has done by the people one or two generations prior to us. In the continuity of history, however, we won't be free from the crime and sin our ancestors have committed in that invading war. That invasion to the neighbor countries were plotted and executed by the military leaders fanaticized in imperialistic autocracy. It is ascribed to the Showa emperor. Still, the people could never be free from the responsibility for the war. There were ten millions of people killed in China by invading Japanese military. That memory won't be vanished among people in China.
I recently learned some Chinese captives had been vivisectioned by Japanese military for training of the newly deployed military doctors as "a normal routine". I knew of the history of horrible human experiments done in China by the Japanese 731st troop, which had been elucidated by several researchers and are well known. I was, however, shocked to know such vivisection executed as "a normal training" in the Japanese military.
When the war was finished as defeat of our country in 1945, hundreds Japanese soldiers including those involved in that war crime have been arrested and accomodated in the camps in China. Several people have testified the communist government treated them like real guests in order to have them become aware of their war crime by themselves. While the communist government has done harsh punishment/treatment to those working for Japanese military betraying Chinese people, they have treated the Japanese prisoners with compassion. Of course, the communist government intended to propagandize their idea to the prisoners as well as to Japanese people in homeland. Japanese prisoners have been released from the camps once the camp personnel acknowledged of their reflection on war crimes. Those captured in China have never sentenced to death or life imprisonment while tens or hundreds were sentenced to death in the other countries.
We should remember what our military has done in WWII and pursue the war crime responsibility in the leaders. Without that, we won't reach the real reflection on the perpetration and war crimes to the other countries during the war. It seems we have not gone through thorough pursue of the responsibility for the war.
This is another aspect of war crime responsibility we should not forget. Without that, there would be ultra right political movements which aim at restoring regime of the imperialistic autocracy.
7/24/2025
Visiting the med school hospital we served residency
Subacute thyroiditis, mostly a disease of grown ups, has been a famous entity since our med student days. Appropriately diagnosed with it by our friend doctor, my wife has undergone a typical course. They say it is caused by respiratory viral infection. In the acute phase, the patient could develop symptoms of hyperthyroidism with excessive thyroid hormone released from the damaged thyroid gland. My wife has experienced tachycardia and premature beat for the symptom ascribed to it. She may experience transient hypothyroidism later soon in the recovery phase. I am almost touched to see a typical course, rather serious one, as we used to learn in the student days, has been observed in her, of course, while I am worried about it. This entity is quite rare in pediatrics and I could not remember any case of this famous disease in my medical doctor days. I remembered that I had learned a lot from various patients regarding different illnesses when I was a resident. I recalled how I had learned as a new doctor.
Just in case of any complication etc, she was referred to the med school where we have served residency even though she feels great at present. She is waiting for the lab exam data at the hospital now. Driving with her to the hospital this morning, we have talked a lot our days of residency. It's almost half a century ago. The hospital buildings have been modified at many places. The resident house where we have spent honey moon days seems to have been demolished for now. Everything has been replaced to new buildings. Almost half a century ago since our resident days. Not dreamed we would attend this hospital as a patient.
It is in a terrible heat wave here. In half an hour, I would head to the hospital to bring her back home. May it be some interal before either of us go there as a patient again. Even if not in half a century from now!
PS; She will be on steroid medication for 3 months. The endocrinologist said her it could recur and medication should be continued and tapered off gradually. It was beyond my expectation.
7/22/2025
My wife's illness
It has kept me so busy for the last week that I had to care for my wife with fever and do house chores in addition to whole garden/farm work.
She has been sick with mild fever and sore throat with tender soft tisssue mass in the front of the neck. A friend doctor, Cho, another ham 7N2JZK, has given her the correct diagnosis of subacute thyroiditis a few days ago. With drip infusion of steroid, she got dramatically better today. We could not be thankful more to him than ever.
She has had arrthythmia which turned out to be supraventricular premature contraction which is confirmed with ECG. The thyroid function was compatible with subacute thyroiditis. The acute phase reactant, CRP, was pretty high over 10.
She has been a stout lady without health issue. With her getting sick, I found how much I debted to her in daily routine. Although I have cooked dinner once a couple of days, she has done it as well and always washed dishes etc every day. Washing clothes is another chore she always has done. Most importantly, it was a big worry and stress for me she could have fallen seriously ill. I have never experienced that for almost half a century in our marriage.
Both of us are getting older. We should cherish every day being together. It is not guaranteed at all this uneventful day will go on tomorrow.
7/13/2025
Reminiscence of Jun JA7SSB
In some ham radio clubs abroad, there seems to be a tradition to memorize old timers in the club who have passed away. Of course, those past hams are destined to be forgotten in some time. However, the recollection of them must help new comers to understand how ham radio has evolved even if they don't know those old timers in person. I believe keeping records of those old hams having passed is worth not only as reminiscence but also a history of this hobby. In our counry, such recording is not very popular so far as I surfed around ham club sites in our country.
There must be only few who know of Jun JA7SSB for now. He was one of the pioneers in ham radio in our country in the post WWII era. He has been active on the air, especially on CW. With extensive experience and knowledge in radio communication, he has often published reviews on new radio equipment in magazines. As the obituary written by me shown below, I knew him through CW communication and FOC membership. Our friendship was never close or long lasting. He is still an unforgettable friend in ham radio. He should be remembered in ham radio.
He has visited me at this place maybe in 1990s. He must be in late 70s of his age then. He has driven the long way from Fukushima by himself. At another occasion, when I was shocked and depressed having had a bad lightning strike to the tower and most equipments were destroyed around the same time in 1990s, he, kindly telling me the probability of direct lightning attack is pretty low, kicked me back into ham radio again. Without his encouragement, I could have gone QRT at that time.
The following is the obituary for him which I was asked to write by FOC in 2008;
Jun was born in China in 1931. When the WWII was over, he came back to Kyoto in Japan with his family, where he was first licensed as JA3CKI in 1955. I used to hear he had been active as a SWL some years before that. He was a real pioneer in the resurrection of ham radio in Japan after WWII. His new own business has brought him up to Fukushima. He got a new call JA7SSB there.
He has been quite active in various aspects of amateur ham radio. He has published a number of articles on reviews of new equipments or on technical issues in various journals here. DXing and contesting were also his interests. He has been translating DX news from overseas into Japanese and has published them on a web site. Later, he has enjoyed leisurely chats on CW with friends all over the world. I should add his contribution to the new comers. He said he had been keeping a net for CW practice for 12 years. It has been held twice a week on VHF for the new comers in the area. He might have shed good seeds who would be good CW operators in the future.
Personally, I have become acquainted with him around 1990 a few years after I had entered the club. He was so experienced in radio communication technology and had ample knowledge of radio equipment. He won’t, however, show off them to me at all but behaved like a real old friend. I am sure he has been doing the same way to the new comers or his friends there. A few years later, he was approved to be a member of the club. Some of you might have heard him on CW with not necessarily fast but steady keying in morning or in evening.
His death came all of sudden due to a heart attack on Dec 2 2008. He has written and published a column in the local club web site on the very same day. In its last part, he said, despite of the confusion in the world, he won’t despair. Enduring the present situation, he would make effort to live better reflecting own mind and would look for a new world.
We are saddened to know we won’t hear his signal again. This great experienced ham who has always run ahead of us in various fields of ham radio will be missed by all of us.
7/10/2025
Another performance of Brahms clarinet trio
7/05/2025
Musical instrument practice will keep us young
It is getting into the muggiest season in a year here. Disliking the artificial coolness by air conditioner, I try to sleep without it and often result in unwanted wake up at midnight or ery early in the morning. And I should turn on the air conditioner then.
A lot of unpleasant and unhappy news are continuously coming in. Tramp tariff won't only devastate the economy and people's lives in the US but also do wrong to the other countries like Japan. The government debt of the US has risen astronomically high and the US government has almost given up redeeming the government bond. USD is losing its value against the other major currencies around the world. The tariff rise won't cover the deficit at all. The tariff is the tax which the US corporations/people should pay. It is a domestic problem in the US. But if USD loses its key currency status in the world and the US government bond should not be creditted, it would give rise to formiddable confusion in the world economy.
Okay, enough about unpleasant topics of politics...
A recent good news to me is that practising musical instruments will keep us young.
A research group in Kyoto University has followed up elderly groups, one starting practising musical instruments and the other not practising for 4 years. The practising group has shown no decrease of the grey matter in right Putamen while the non pratising has shown decrease of the grey matter in the same region. The bilateral cerebellar function respnsible for linguistic working memory is better preserved in the practising group while it is reduced in the non practising group.
Music instrument training in elderly seems to work at least some of our brain function against aging. There are a lot of anti aging procedures. Music activity is involved in a lot of aspects in brain function, sensory, motor and memory/cognition. Practising musicl instruments is surely expected to keep us young as this scientific report says.
It has made me wonder if I should restart cello all after 3 years of absence. If tendonitis of both arms is settled down, I may do it again.
Even though there is no scientific evidence that pounding brass is comparable to music, sending beautiful CW may keep us young as well. Too much extention of thoughts?
Stay cooled, everyone!
6/21/2025
Vaccine elimination would cause over 6000 deaths in the US in a year
Recently, an expert of vaccination has quit CDC.
She was disappointed at dissmissal of the membrs of ACIP, Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices by HHS Secretary RFK Jr. They were mostly replaced to anti vaxxers or those unwilling for immunization. ACIP and their statement on vaccination have been the hallmark for immunization not ony in the US but also in the world. Whenever new vaccine or immunization protocol was published, I tried to see what they were saying about it. Having them replaced even to anti vaxxers is nothing but a nightmare for those involved in immunization all over the world. I could fully understand what this researcher has felt at it
This is a paper predicting what disaster vaccine elimination brings forth. This is not a fake or conspiracy but a scientific prediction. More than 6000, mainly children, would be killed by preventable diseases in the US. Even not being fatal, a lot of cases would suffer from the sequelae throughout their lives. Infectious diseases spread immediately to the other parts of the world, where even more people suffer from it.
Conspiracy theorists or demagogue won't take responsibility for the result.
6/20/2025
Our home and vegetables in summer
The summer vegetable I first think of is tomato. I have planted several plants of tomato together with bitter melon. The latter is told to get rid of insects which aspirate and ruin tomato fruits. I won't use any insecticides and hope this companionship may work well. Already several fruits are borne even though still green.
All of them will keep me busy. If you see an old guy sitting on a tiny chair on the ground and concentrated on caring for the vegetables and cutting unnecessary weeds, it is me.
Fascism looming
Leberation has posted an appeal against rising fascism around the world. It is by 400 intellectuals from all over the world. I have read it in Japanese.
https://www.liberation.fr/idees-et-debats/tribunes/400-intellectuels-internationaux-signent-un-manifeste-contre-le-fascisme-nous-appelons-toutes-celles-et-ceux-qui-croient-en-la-democratie-a-agir-20250613_SDZAU6AS65BQBJLM2OLQBEJELE/
The fascism is against the peace and democracy, which human has gained through the devastating world wars. It is dependent on the populism. Economical inequality among people and among countries has brought about despair and hatred. They would applaud and fanatically support the leaders of autocratic dictatorship as if waited for a messiah. Those leaders are always the rich themselves or those closely linked to oligarchs.
The problem of this modern fascism is that it's augmented and proliferated by the internet social media. Fakes, conspiracies or anti scientific discourses in favor of the fascists are echoing in that media and often amplify themselves. They won't care if it is right or even real. They tend to deny the intellectuals or the authorities. It would be a tragedy that those blindly worshipping the fascists would be exploited or even victimized.
It may be a difficult question how to do with this fascism grown in this modern era. Economical disparity brought by the neoliberal economy and enormous indebtedness of the most developed countries are the background of this populism. We should start with the present disparity.
6/16/2025
Airplane crash, Crowded Haneda Airport
Luckily, I won't have any chance to travel abroad any longer. If I should, I would choose a flight from Narita Internatl airport.
RIP to all the people victimized by the accident in India.
6/11/2025
A meaning of elderly
In the end of ourlives, why should we be burdened with such as pain, worry and anxiety? I could not help asking if I have gone through the hard life only for that.
No answer to this question possibly until the last moment of my life.
As I wrote in another article titled as "A gift in elderly", living elderly might give us a lot of new experiences. It might be a meaning of elderly, even though it could never be the ultimate answer. It may mean the elderly is the time to get ready free from things in on the earth and eventually to leave it for the another phase.
I am not an eager fan of any movies or movie stars. But the following sentence by Meryl Streep is quite impressive and ascertains an aspect of elderly. I have found this in a post of facebook. It was with her recent portrait. Not like the other most movie stars, she looked to have grown old as she is. No cosmetic suregery etc. I respect her not only as a movie star but also as a human being.
~~~
Aging is not for the faint of heart.
6/05/2025
Harvesting potatoes
6/03/2025
Faure's 1st Piano Quintet
5/20/2025
Turning 76 years old
Both of my parents have worked really hard. Father as a house keeper at a few different hospital/clinic while mother as a nurse at a Salvation Army hospital. In a few years, we could move to a public apartment nearby. It was still a small one for our family. Our parents have had three of us, their children, complete having professional education. Sister became a nurse while I and my brother chose to be MD. In my case, I have first learned mechanical engineering at a college. I could not be interested in doing with drawing diagrams or doing with machines at factory. Interested more in something human, I mean, directly involved in human, I would like to be an MD. Despite of limited amount of income, our parents let me go to a med university in Tokyo. No complaints from them. I could spend youth as I would like to. Playing with ham radio since teenage days and even cello at the university orchestra. I am sure it has been a burden to my parents but they never said no to me.
A couple of days ago, I dreamed of coming to see and bring back my parents to this place. They seemed to have been on a journey together. Heading to the train station we were supposed to meet, in the dream, I could not be happier expecting seeing them after such a long interval than I was at any occasion. It was a mysteriously pleasant feeling. Unluckily, I could not see them in the dream. I woke up in that height of happiness.
I have turned to be 76 years today. I would spend this day with gratitude to my parents. And also to my family and friends as well. It was not a life of success at all. To be fair, it is full of failure and regrets. But thank to my parents' efforts and the others, I could live so long. It is the day when I recall all of them with much gratitude.
5/18/2025
Waking up dawn
Getting up around 4 AM here, it is always in vague twilight nowadays. It's only a month and a few days until summer solstice comes, I realize. In such a situation, a phrase of a psalm often comes up in my mind; "I wake up dawn". It is a phrase telling how hopeful we are for the day coming up. Even passing the days of hope in youth, I still recall of it. I must be thankful to have another day I could spend freely.
Having breakast I prepared for myself, I always wonder what to do in the farm. Summer vegtables have been planted. Some more to come. Bugs are getting active and ready to eat young plants. No pesticides used. With adequate compost and rice bran, hopefully they grow faster than being eaten by those bugs! A lot of peas are being harvested. They taste sweet. They are boiled for salad. Egg binding with proper seasoning is also good. Onions are getting ripe as well. Potatoes are also going to be harvested in a few weeks.
They say socialization is important for mental health in the elderly. However, becoming free from things and relationships means to be solitary in a sense. Solitude and socialization seem to be contradictory in life of the elderly. It is a natural course in life. Whenever I listen to the late piano sonatas of Beethoven, I know he must spent the last chapter of his life in solitude. That's why he could compose those brilliant works of freedom. In the 2nd movement of the last one, Arietta, he took the style of variation. Variation always sound like life itself. Changing freely with the main theme in the core. This movement ends recalling the motif of the main theme as if it still went on. As if vanishing into thin air. No obsession of conclusion in the end as with most of his other works. He has composed Diabelli Variation after this sonata. But this was the very last sonata he composed. It is not easy for everyone to live like him. Still, may I be able to accept elderly as it is!
5/07/2025
Autocratic countries are increasing
A sociopolitical analysis regarding autocracy vs democracy in the world is published by V-Dem Institute in Sweden as Democracy Report 2025.
https://www.v-dem.net/documents/60/V-dem-dr__2025_lowres.pdf
It urges us to confront daunting reality of autocracy arisen and investigate by what cause it is brought about every where in the world.
The summary of the report says;
The number of autocracy countries is increasing. It is 91 while the number of democracy countries is 88.
Liberal democracy, the least common regime type in the world, is present only in 29 countries. Approximatly 72% of people live in autocratic countries, highest ever since 1978.
Loss of freedom of expression is worsened in 44 coutries, elections are corrupted in 25 countries, freedom of association is lost in 22 countries and rule of law is diminished in 18 countries. These changes tell how autocratization is being increased in the world.
So far as I understand, this tendency toward autocratization is due to or, at least, accompanied with the rise of far right in politics. The far right often insist of anti scientific views such as anti-vaxxer, neglect of the so called authority based on unintelligence and affinity to cults. They also won't hesitate making lies.
There are a lot of examples of such far right wing in the world. In our country, the main faction of ruling LDPJ has insidiously turned to far right long time ago. Even some of the opposition parties have emerged as far right. They are trying to return to the regime of imperialism before WWII. A few European countries have such far right parties as well. Some of them are involved in the administration. Of course, the Trump administration is apparently another with imperialistic ambition they dare not hesitate hiding. A lot of executive orders the President has signed seem unreasonable. Undocumented immigrants or those with legal visa with view of anti-semitism or against the government have been arrested and deported overseas, which seems to violate the constitution in the US.
This change in sociopolitics in the world won't seem to be only a temporary phenomenon but would last to devastation. As Pope Francis wisely indicated in adhortatio apotolica in 2013, I believe, it is due to the greedy capitalism and the economic disparity as its consequence in the world. Without its reformation, the world would become a real chaos soon. What an irony it is that those exploited by the greedy capitalism are supporting the autocratic politicians who show up with populistic propaganda.
5/05/2025
Mocking pope should never be allowed
In 2013, Pope Francis has issued an adhortatio apotolica. It has raised an alert against the trend in the world that the stronger preys the weaker. He pointed out humans were handled as disposable products. He advised to establish ethics in economy as well as in finance.
There have been a couple of encyclicas published, one by a pope Leo XIII in 1891 and, the other by John Paul II in 1991, a century apart each other. The former warned an evil effect of capitalism while the latter of socialism. This adhortatio ranked lower than encyclica should issue a warning against financial capitalism based on neoliberalism.
Pope Francis has payed attention to the society and to the weaker in that way. From that standpoint, he could not help publishing that adhortatio, I guess. As the two encyclicas have influenced on the thoughts of the times, this adhortatio would be remembered as an important publication to the world for a long time.
While it has not passed a long time yet since Pope Francis died, Trump has put a photo AI generated which showed him in clerical garment of pope. They say he actually told he would become a pope. It could never be regarded as a joke or a banter. He is on the opposite side to Pope Francis and embodies the extreme neoliberalism, with the motto, only now, only money and only myself.
It is a terrible humiliation not only to the Catholic Church but to the whole world. Isn't it enough for him to be impeached in the US? Or do they enjoy his joking? I could hardly believe it is only a joke but his sense of omnipotency, which is dilusional, would try to realize it by some means if the situation permits.
4/28/2025
Mother's 14th anniversary
4/24/2025
Cooking especially chicken breast
4/17/2025
RFK Jr dragging up the old fraudent issue
RFKennedy Jr, the secretary of HHS, still seems to insist that "a environmental toxin", that is, vaccine is responsible for autism.
The relationship between MMR vaccine and autism was suggested by a British doctor named Wakefield. His paper saying that was regarded fraudent later and was retracted from the Lancet. I heard he had been deprived of his doctor license due to this criminal publication.
This is an editorial of British Medical Journal in 2011 fully explaining the event of Wakefield.
https://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c7452
There have been dozens of papers telling of no relationship between vaccine and autism. It is more than a surprise that the secretary of HHS tries to drag up the problem. Is he authorized to do so?
This ungraceful event will harm the history only of HHS but also of the politics in the USA.
4/16/2025
A gift in elderly
Mother used to tell me she enjoyed things unknown and new everyday when she was suffering from dementia in her elderly. I thought it had been due to her cognitive and memorizing problem that she felt that way.
Recenetly, being at her age those days myself, I feel things, either I have known before or not, look quite new to me. For example, as written in the prvious posts, Faure's nocturnes have come closer to my mind. I used to listen to them not too few times in the past but have not been impressed by them so much as I recently have. Commonplace things approach my mind with quite different and brilliant outlook. Sometimes with quit new meanings and, on the other occasions, in deepened and enriched way.
I have been wondering why. I might be on the process of dementia myself. On the other hand, since I am living the age when shorter time span is left in my life, things or experiences could approach me in different way from that in young days. Getting older, we lose physical and mental capability. Elderly is often regarded as a negative phase of our lives. However, if we could experience things in a quite different way as described, elderly could be a time of life with gift. As a poet said, the best thing in life is left in our elderly.
In 12 days, it will be my mother's 14th anniversary. May I go after her being pleased at everything, always worrying on friends and family members and being thankful to people aroound her.