Chicken seasoned with miso and salted rice malt

As we get older, we are apt to have the problem of sarcopenia, gradual muscle loss, which could lead to frail and fracture with falling. We need high quality meat. Processed food is handy but not very healthy. It is thought to be related with carcinogenesis.

At our home, this menu comes in handy. Chicken breast seasoned with miso and salted rice malt. It could be preserved in refrigerator for a few days. Not boring with mildly salty taste. If you are concerned about salt intake, you may use less salted rice malt.

　

 

A memory of the orchestra camp half a century ago

Maybe, I have reiterated about the university orchestra camp in this blog. It was held in the end of this month. Over half a century ago. At the valley of Shinshu surrounded with high mountains named Northern Japan Alps. 

As the season coming closer every year, I could not help remembering of that event even though it has passed a long time since that. Description and a few photos of that event just for my memoir in youth...even though I know I have done the same thing in the past.

This lake named Aokiko was close to the camp site. In the free time of the camp, some of us have made excursion there. Rowing boat and even swimming. No one was swimming other than us. As written before, until we finished swimming across the lake, we didn't know it had been so dangerous to swim there due to its big change of water temerature for a possibility that it had been forbidden to swim there.  

This place used to be commercialized with a lot of advertisements or accomodations  when the winter Olympic games were held in Nagano. After its enthusiasm was gone, it turned back to the usual tranquility. I have visited there with my wife in our honey moon period and then alone by myself for a lot of times. The photos shown in this post were taken about 10 years ago.

After swimming in the lake, we walked down to the camp place on this road. It took us an hour or so on foot. We must be pretty tired but could not be even more energitic and vivid. A lot of laughter and talks among the young fellows, some of them in swim suites. I was happy to find the area in the same way as half a century ago. Was it an illusion at taking this photo as if I could see that herd of young people were walking to the lodge?

This is the lodge we often held the camp. Despite of some modifications, the lodge remained almost the same as the orchestral camping days in '70s. Hidden by trees on the left in this photo is the hall we made rehearsal. A range of high moutains not seen by the fog on this photo is risen behind the hills  in front. In the end of this month, cool breeze ushering in early fall was blowing down from the mountains. The railway in front is named Ohito line running along the valley, the most western side of the great rit valley in Japan dividing our country east to west. Unfortunately, there are less and less passengers on it and the rail line could be abolished in the near future, I am afraid. These accomodations may undergo a change then.

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.

                                                                                            

It was only a few years since I started learning cello. I could play only some parts of pieces the orchestra was practising. The pieces I used to play in the orchestra have left me precious and irreplaceable memories. One of such pieces is this; Petit Suite by Debussy. A lovely and impressionistic expression of the scene. It sure brings me back to the memory of the camping site and the lake mentioned above.

I am so grateful to have had such memories related with such a beautiful music.

I am still sometimes fascinated to drive to this area by myself. It has become, howeveer, too adventurous for me to do that any more. I would devote myself to the old memories listening to this piece.

 

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. 

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.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/trump-orders-firing-bls-commissioner-weak-jobs-report-rcna222531

Midsummer

It has cooled down a bit today after hectic heat wave for a few weeks. It has even rained even though only very little amount. I am still making much effort to keep the garden neat pulling out vigorously growing weeds. I should confess that I am sometimes caught by an idea to use a heribicide. Except for spots I could hardly do with weeds such as the cracks of the entrance road, I won't spray that chemical. When I finish the work sitting for an hour or two, I stand up and look around the place neatly cleaned with a kind of self satisfaction, which won't last too long.  　

Summer vegetables are growing. This is a tiny pumpkin. I have harvested the very first one today, different from this one. It will be on the table after being matured for a few weeks. Maybe, I have planted too many pumpkin seedlings. Most of the pumpkins shoud be cooked in a few months. No storage possible as you know. I must find some people who would get one or two.  

Several water melons are being ripened. Whenever seeing these water melons, I always remember of Glen NN6T, who used to grow water melon in the desert area. He always boasted what big fruits he and his wife Susan had got. Ever since those days, he got multiple cancers and passed away. Life is too short. I wonder how Susan is doing, a very affectionate and loyal wife to Glen. In several weeks, these fruits would become ripe as well. 

Whenever this crape myrtle blooms, I feel summer was going away. Looking back the album in the PC, I realize it flowers exactly in this season. Not late summer but in the height of summer every year. I just wondered why I had had such a fixed image of midsummer with this flower. Maybe, something ushering in early fall could be perceived with it. Anyway, this crape myrtle goes on flowering for some time. 

This summer has been too harsh for such flowers as this Marie Gold. They are not flourishing this year. In a few weeks, it feels the sign of early all and starts to vividly come out.

The magnolia tree is freely spreading its branches into the sky. Zelkova and Japanese Judas Tree cut down, this tree is the biggest one at our home. A home tree. As our parents used to enjoy it gorgeously blooming early in spring, we might be able to see it, even if not so many times. 

 

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! 

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.  

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

Another performance of Brahms clarinet trio

After sunny and cruelly hot days for the past week or two, it rained this afternoon. It has spared me the routine work of sprinkling the vegetables with water. It was, however, like a sudden rain accompanied with thunder. Anyway, it must have been a blessing to the plants. Of course, the weeds I have been doing with for the days are growing even faster than the vegetables. Whack-a-mole like work with the weeds will go on until the end of Sept. or even later for me. 

By the way, I have ran across with this performance of Brahms clarinet trio. This has been one of my beloving music since young days as I wrote about in the other posts in this blog. I have listened to various renditions of thie piece by different ensembles. I still have several sources of CD for this music. This ensemble is one of the best ones for me.

It is beginning with an unforgettable impressive melody by cello. It has struck me a lot. I have never heard such a cellist weaving that melody in this way. Most exquisitely expressivo. The cellist seems to have been playing in a famous string quartet. He seems not young any longer. Together with the other two players, he must be an experienced person not only as a musician but also a human. This excellent performance might be owing to his capability almost innate but could be enriched with his life in the past. Yearning for something beautiful, or regretting or reconciling something gone away. Such experience might leave him a kind of aesthetic sense. And he would try to play cello after that. If it is right, it might be another meaning of getting old. 

 

 

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!

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

Here.

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. 

Here.

Conspiracy theorists or demagogue won't take responsibility for the result. 

Our home and vegetables in summer

It will be the summer solstice tomorrow. It has been like mid summer here for the last several days. Hot, sunny and wet. Dazzling sunray all around. Quite aberrant weather. We used to have this kind of weather in the last part of July to mid August only for 3 to 4 weeks. Global warming sure comes on here.

When I was crazy for ham radio, around this time in a year, it was the time of summer withers, of course, on the propagation. It seems to become literally summer withers season for now. 

Ume trees and a magnolia tree are so vivid and grown thick. 

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.

                                                                                            

Another summer vegetable is okra. Very strong against heat wave. It may produce fruits until fall. A seedling growing on the ground. There are several more growing. Whenever I talked of okla to Ellen W1YL in this season, her reaction was just as if she got bored with such as okla. She used to tell me she and her OM Bob used to have tomatoes canned in summer when they were in the New England state. A lovely memory.

A pumpkin plant is growing. Already a small fruit on a branch. I am planning to plant more seeds in order to get them matured in the end of fall. They say it is the winter solstice pumpkin. 

There are a lot of summer vegetables growing at present such as egg plants, paprika, sweet melon or carrot. No pesticide nor herbcide is given to the farm. Only compost and small amount of organic fertilizers like rice bran are used. Of course, some are bitten and eaten by bugs. Weeds around vegetables could be food for those bugs as well. More seeds are planted than necessary to compensate the possible loss. Grass mulching would become natural compost and enrich the soil in years.

Marie gold is a stout flower living long until the beginning of fall. As well known, It will suppress the growth of nematodes. That effect of this flower is beneficial for such as tomato.

 

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. 

Here.

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. 

The fascism often aims at war. War could be the origin of their profit and the origin to fascinate and bundle up people. The next world war could be the end of human civilization.

Be careful. Fascism is looming us before we get aware of it.

Airplane crash, Crowded Haneda Airport

An info from Lester Price. It might be of concern for those often travelling abroad. The probability of airplane crash or other accidents is quite low compared with that of traffic accidents etc. 

Once we see the disaster of Air India crash, however, we could never neglect this safety rank. 

It might be related with the manufacturer and the maintenance crew of the airplane as well. 

In case of travelling at or transitting through Haneda Airport of Tokyo, the airplane would take off toward north, that is, over the downtown of Tokyo when it is southerly windy. That route has started to be in use since 2020. It sure is not as safe as the course over the Tokyo Bay. They say the flight takes off once in a minute from 3 to 7PM in our local. So crowded! If an airplace should fail taking off and crashes into the downtown, it might be an unimaginable disaster not only for the passengers but also for those living in the area of the the flight course.

 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.

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.

One day, you wake up and realize — youth has quietly slipped away.

But it didn’t leave alone.

It took with it your insecurities, your rush to please, your fear of not being enough.

And in its place?

It left you with something stronger:

A slower pace, but a steadier step.

The wisdom to say goodbye without fear.

The grace to cherish those who choose to stay.

The power to be you, unapologetically.

Aging isn’t about losing — it’s about letting go.

It’s about learning to accept, to release, and to truly see:

That beauty was never just in the mirror…

It lived in every story, scar, and silent strength we carried within.

Aging is a gift. Wear it with dignity.

~ Meryl Streep

Harvesting potatoes

It is the busiest time in a year for an amateur farmer. I have been kept busy doing with weeds, planting summer vegetables like pumpkins, long beans, ocras, eggplants, water melons or more sweet potatoe seedlings. Onions have been harvested. Not so good this year possibly due to poor growth of the seedlings.

Potatoes have been on a farm bed prepared with natural farming method. High bed with a lot of grass mulch as a source of compost and a lot of rice bran as not only a fertilizer but also more of activator for the soil flora.

The harvest was like this. A big success. No chemical fertilizer nor pesticides etc. A lot o big potatoes were grown without any damage from insects. I should crop much more from the rest of the farm.

It is interesting that such a vegetable could grow without any chemicals. Natural farming is a movement to ecological agriculture. Not much such as fertilizers or pesticides won't be used. But such as grass compost or rice bran is applied to the farm. Not much plowing. There is a dynamic ecological environment in the soil. Mycorrhizal fungi or the other flora in the soil are proliferated and work to give nutrients like nitrogen chemical to the plants. As little handling of the ground as possible is given to the soil. 

They say it would take several years to have the soil matured, that is, becoming rich enough for natural farming. I might be too late to start with it. But still would like to go on in that method good for the environment and economical without much expenditure for agricultural materials.

I am doing it with only hands and scoop/shovel. Some people are doing farming in this style for their profession and are successful to live on with it. 

Faure's 1st Piano Quintet

As reiterated in the past, I believe Faure's chamber music are all masterpieces. Especially, piano and string ensemble works. Probably 30 years ago, or even further back in the past, I have bought the CD of his two piano quintets played by Jean Hubeau, piano, and Quator Via Nova. It says it was recorded or the CD was manufactured in 1985. Their performance is not only lyrical but also passionate. One of the classics for these pieces for me as well as for the classic fans those days. Compared with the other modern perormances, it is still brilliant and touching.

I love his piano trio, string quartet, piano quartets or piano quintet Nr2. Hard to compare with them, piano quintet Nr1 is still the most favorite one for me. It was composed at the boundary of style in his life between early lyricism inherited from the Romantic school in Belle Epoch and later style succeeded to modern music, complicated, bitter and serious. It may be when he has started suffering from the auditory abnormality, which sounded higher pitch lower while lower pitch deviated to higher. With that dysunction lethal for a composer, he struggled to go on bringing forth the series of real masterpieces in his last chapter of life. I have not studied precisely about his pathography regarding his hearing abnormality but believe it was around the time of composing this quintet that he started suffering from it. It has, in my view, profoundly influenced on the composition.  

In 2008, I had a chance to play the 1st movement of this piece with friends of mine in Tokyo. On the arpeggio, as with the other piano involved chamber music, the 2nd violin starts singing impressive lovely melody of simplicity which is transferred to cello and later the other instruments. We were just playing it for enjoyment but not for performance before audience at all. Still, what a joy for me! I only wished we had had more than a couple of rehearsals we actually made. I am still thankful to the gang playing it with me. An irreplaceable memory for me.

I wished to play it with some friends. Seemingly no chance ahead. I have handed the part scores to a good friend of mine, a violinist, hoping she and her group may realize it to rendition some day. It is the score of dream for me. Luckily, the CD mentioned above is not deteriorated like the other old CDs. I will go on listening it in the rest of my life. A piece to farewell to youth in my life as well.

 

 

Turning 76 years old

As reiterated in this blog, I was born at the very same place as I am living right now. Around WWII, our aunt was managing a small sanatorium for tuberculosis patients who were seriously ill and had no one caring for them. It was among woods very sparsely populated area. My parents have met there, have married and have owned their family while working at the facility. I have only few memories then. I still remember our home was literally a shack made of woods and grass. No windows with sash at all. Only a room inside with a hearth in the center. As already told before, one of the earliest memories in my life was hymn in a capella flown on breeze, which the patients and the staff sung. A memory in serenity and peacfulness.

Before I entered an elementary school, my parents have decided to move to Tokyo. Parents might think of the chance of our education. And it was the time when anti tuberculosis medicine became available and tuberculosis could be cured. They might have judged that such a small sanatorium would be of no necessity in the society in the near future. Actually, our aunt has decided to close it down in a few years after our move.

My father went a suburb of Tokyo a bit earlier than we did and built a wooden tiny house renting a property from a friend. It is shown back on the right on this photo. It was a little bigger than the shack we used to live here. Still a poor and small house. The houses in front might be cages for chicken. Our house was comparable to the cages. It was 1955 or so.

   

 

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.

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!   

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.

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.  

Mother's 14th anniversary

My brother has reminded me of our mother's 14th anniversary of passing by an e mail a few days ago. Of course, I remembered of the day, that is, today. It was interesting to me that he had emphasized that, becoming older, he would tend to wonder what our parents at our age would think of at each event in life. It was exactly what I had felt these days.  

Every afternoon, our mother used to spend sometime sitting on a corner of the flower bed at the end of this row of azalea facing to the street. It was when she had lost her husband, that is, our father a few years ago and had suffered from mild dementia losing her short term memories. She was watching people and cars passing by without tiring. I haven't dared to ask her what she was doing. I thought, howeverer, she had waited for our father to come home there. She often asked us where he had been to since those days until her passing.

We all get old and would lose our capabilities. In our mother's case, she has not lost her long term memories and her personality despite of Alzheimer. There must be a lot of people losing every memory in life at the end of their lives. The existence of those elderly people may give us a chance to say farewell on earth and to tell us how imortant loving each other is. Our mother has taught us that by the way she lived in her last years of life. Am I ready for that, I feel I am asked. 

The azalea is starting to bloom now.  

 

Cooking especially chicken breast

Weeding at the farm and garden is still keeping me busy. Getting warmer, it will have them grow even faster and more vigorously. I am apt to forget how long I have been working there. Thurst and back pain sometimes remind me of the time I spend there.

I am often cooking as well. My wife firmly believes we elderly should take good quality of protein to avoid sarcopenia. Good food plus good exercise will keep us young and far from frail, as she says.

One of the best meats is chicken breat in her view. Less fat and full of good protein. It is not costly, either, which is important to me responsible for shopping.

This is one of our ususal cook menue, chicken breast seasoned with salted rice malt. Salted rice malt has not been very popular to me. I learned this menu a few months ago and have been a big fan for this ever since. It could be preserved in the rerigerator for a few days. It is a handy preserved food.

This is another cook of chicken breat which I learned its recipe from Koiso JH1UNS in facebook. Not complicated but good taste.  He is good at preparing simple as well as tasty cook.

 

Leaves of carrots looked so gorgeous that I have tried to boil them with flaked tuna. Leaves, especially the trunk, were a bit too matured and less soft than expected. But still fresh and tasty. 

So that is how we are getting along. I should have mentioned on the music, especially on Matthew's Passion again. A very important memory. I might have already written about it for a few times. But still something to be mentioned. Maybe, later.

 

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.

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. 

Cherry flowers and potatoes

I have inadvertently forgot bringing my camera on the way for shopping yesterday. It was the main reason why I didn't take photos of cherry flowers. I still have something perverse in my characteristics. When a lot of people are taking its photo, I am a bit reluctant to do the same thing. All the more, posting them in my blog!

It was really the plateau of cherry blooming now. I could not resist posting some of the photos I took this afternoon. I am still a typical Japanese.

Cherry trees in the campus of a jr. high nearby. There was this school when I was born here. I am wondering how old these cherry trees are. Maybe, as old as me.

The entrance of a community center, a few blocks away from our home. Cherry trees in a well cared woods.

In close up.

Cherry flowers are starting falling on the ground. The life of cherry flowers is so short. Their transience as well as beauty might be the reason why they could not help attracting us. In a few days, the flowers will be replaced to new leaves. There will be a lot of flowers fallen on the ground as if a carpet.

I have spent whole day in the farm, pulling the weeds and planting vegetables like taro and burdock. As reported earlier, potatoes are successfully budding. I love these young buds as an expression of life. Very lovely.

Spring is fully blown here.