A kind of garden tree has been perished at our home possibly as a facet of the global warming

Japanese ekianthus is a popular garden tree in our country. We have had them for hedge and also solitary garden trees since we moved here about 40 years ago. They always bloomed with tiny light pink flowers at the same time of budding. In fall, they were beautifully colored like the photo below. This photo of them hedging the street was taken almost 20 years ago. 

For the past 2 or 3 years, all of them have been eated by longhorn beetles. It has ruined most of them for now, even though we have given pesticide for this pest. This pest is originally in the tropical area. Even without any scientific evidence, I suspect it might be settled down here due to the global warming. It coincides with occurrence of extreme heat in the summer here. 

The larva of this pest invades and damages the trunk of such as Japanese ekianthus or other hardwoods. It lasts for 10 months in a year. It could also damege the wood of building materials. This pest has not attracted much public attention yet. But who knows?

   

I might have taken photos of them blooming in spring. So beautiful. I am sure I have taken but they have been lost in the vast collection of photos in HDD. Too sad. I should make it sure that every photo has been stored in an external HDD. 

 I have also read about the deranged circulation of seawater in the Atlantic Ocean. In the global warming, the ice in the north pole has been thawed and poured into the Atlantic Ocean. The seawater has been lowered in density and prevens its normal circulation between the surface and the depth. It could cause the abnormal weather and the reduced production of fisheries industry. We are quietly and secrety going through a tepping point in this manner. 

This is a tiny and possibly definite experience of the same global warming at our home.

Kleptocracy?

Isn't this a kleptocracy?

Victimizing thousands of people, including a lot of children, this war is being conducted. An unacceptable crime against the international law. Without naphtha, we are being deficient of medical equipments and stuff. It is directly related with loss of lives in medical services. If those responsible for ceasefire are economically corrupted in this way, it is even more criminally inhumanistic. 

Trump always announces the news through his SNS on Friday. Immediately before that, there are a lot of trades in futures trading. They say it is highly suspicious of insider trading as follows.

From a post by The Other 98% in Facebook;

 The BBC just dropped a damning investigation that should be plastered across every front page in America, and yet here we are. The BBC examined trade volume data across major financial markets and matched it to trump's most significant market-moving statements, finding a consistent pattern of trading spikes occurring just minutes before a social media post or media interview went public. On April 9, 2025, someone piled over $2 million into S&P 500 long positions right before trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs. The S&P jumped 9.5%, and that bet returned nearly $20 million. Some analysts told the BBC the pattern bears all the hallmarks of illegal insider trading, where bets are made on information the general public simply does not have.

And the family connections make it all even harder to ignore. Donald Trump Jr. sits on the advisory board of Polymarket and acts as a strategic advisor to Kalshi, the two biggest prediction market platforms where this suspiciously well-timed speculation keeps showing up. Meanwhile, the broader trump family has been cashing in through World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture where Barron, Don Jr., and Eric Trump are all listed as cofounders. Reuters reported the family pulled in over $800 million from crypto asset sales in just the first half of 2025. This is a sitting president whose entire family is financially embedded in the markets he moves with his mouth every single day.

And here's what should make every American genuinely angry: we found out about most of this from the BBC. Not the New York Times. Not CNN. Not any of the massive, well-funded American newsrooms that are supposedly the guardians of democracy. It is a profound embarrassment that in 2026, citizens of the United States have to depend on a British public broadcaster to investigate what their own government is doing with their markets. American corporate media, addicted to access and terrified of losing advertiser dollars, has largely looked away while the pillaging happens in plain sight. The SEC declined to comment, the White House went silent, and a financial expert told the BBC there is a low likelihood anyone will ever be prosecuted. That last part might be the most honest thing anyone has said about how power actually works in this country.

A cartoon sarcasing the present situation.

Dame Judi Dench in her own words

I am not a big fan for any actress/actor. These words by Dench, however, sure belong to the wisdom of people properly grown old. I praise her in this context. To the post of this series of proverb, a portrait of recent Dench was added. Possibly in her eighties. It was what she really looked. No cosmetics nor vestige of cosmetic surgery. Her line of sight was so straight as if looking at essence of things.

I have seen her in a Shakespear movie in my young days. A vivid and beautiful actress those days. She has grown old in an ideal way. Could I live after these proverbs? "Choose your battles" sounds one of the things I need to practise in my life. Too late? Still only try to.

Quote;

 Dame Judi Dench in her own words:

"Don’t prioritise your looks my friend, as they won’t last the journey.

Your sense of humor though, will only get better with age.

Your intuition will grow and expand like a majestic cloak of wisdom.

Your ability to choose your battles, will be fine-tuned to perfection.

Your capacity for stillness, for living in the moment, will blossom.

Your desire to live each and every moment will transcend all other wants.

Your instinct for knowing what (and who) is worth your time, will grow and flourish like ivy on a castle wall.

Don’t prioritise your looks my friend,

they will change forevermore, that pursuit is one of much sadness and disappointment.

Prioritise the uniqueness that make you you, and the invisible magnet that draws in other like-minded souls to dance in your orbit.

These are the things which will only get better."

Cognitive lifetime enrichment lowers or delays the risk of Alzheimer's disease related dementia

In elderly, becoming demented or not is of primary concern of health. Dementia in elderly has been believed to ba a kind of physiological process. Recenetly, there have been more knowledges on its etiology. Aging, genetics, way of living environment and so forth. Accumulation of beta amyloid protein in the CNS seems to be a result of the process. The earlier process of degeneration is targeted now. 

It is not only a private issue but also a public probelm especially in the developed countries like Japan where aging is in fast progress in the society. Certain percentage of elderly should suffer from dementia of Alzheimer's disease and the others. It could be a big burden for the social security.

The following article says high cognitive lifetime enrichment would lower or delay deveoping Alzheimer's disease related dementia. Being able to access only this abstract of the original paper, I am not sure how lifetime enrichment has been determined and even quatified and what pathological findings in the brain have been associated with the result. Still this article in this renowned journal of neurology may consolidate our preconception that cultural and intellectual activities may lower the risk of dementia in elderly days.

What do you think I have thought of reading this article? I really have had lifetime enrichment. It is difficult for me to objectively decide what experience has enriched my life. It should be ham radio and music in my case. I won't boast of these but believe, without them, my life has been far from being rich.

Through ham radio, I have had acquaintances with people abroad and had shared the same time for decades. Subjectively, it has been the lifetime enrichment for me for sure. Through conversation with them, I have stimulated on a lot of things and have learned a lot from them. It has never been waste of time in my life, I believe. 

Secondly, music has attracted me so much since young days. Either playing an instrument or just listening to it, it is an emotional as well as intellectual stimulus for me. It has never bored me a bit. Whenever listening to Bach, I still feel as if I were present at the creation of the universe. 

Even if they haven't enriched my life as this paper says and would not help preventing me from Alzheimer's disease, I am still grateful to these elements in life and those who have shared them with me. In the upcoming several years, it becomes evident if these were the enrichment in life or not. Even if I get demented, I still owe much to them.     

Here.

 

Azalea and concern about world politics/economy

 Again, it's almost a couple of weeks since I posted the last one in this blog. I have been kept busy pulling the weeds and cutting the lawn in the garden. I have also planted a few vegetables. For an amateur farmer, as you know, it is the busiest season in a year now.

The azaleas along the entrance are almost fully out now. The same kind of photo taken at the same angle. Seemingly the same but new every year for me. A net for peas is seen on the right. Peas are growing fast now. A ridge of potato farm is covered with white non woven fabric to avoid frost damage. The dogwoods along the street ahead seem to bloom as well.

I have been concerned about the mess in the Middle East caused by Trump and Netaniyafu. Lives which should not have been lost are victimized. Especially, the girl pupils in Iran killed by missiles launched by the US military. It has been a war crime and crime against humanity which should be accused. The two leaders responsible for this tragedy are told to gain personal benefits from this war, that is, disguising their scandals/crimes. 

The more serious issue is that certain numbers of the peoples are still approving those criminal leaders. The global warming and the techno-capitalism are creating the enormous economic disparity in North-South countries and in each country itself. Together with deficit of natural resources and foods, they are endlessly increasing the economic gap in the world. I believe the majority exploited as stated above is denying every authority and believing in conspiracy and populism. They may support a leader like Trump who insists invading other sovereignties for natura resources. Religious cultism is involved in this process, which makes the situation more complicated and untreatable.

It won't be too long left to me in the world any longer. I would go on studying about this process of the global warming and the bottleneck of modern capitalism. So when it is fine, I would be in the garden ane when rainy, you may find me in my study which used to be a radio shack for decades. 

Easter and Matthews Passion

 It is the Easter today. Having been a step away from Christianity myself, I am still sure it's the season to listen to Matthews Passion by JS Bach this time in a year. As depicted before, it was spring in early '70s when I listened to this music in a concert in Tokyo. 

Here.

Without the anatomy teacher asking us if anyone would go to the concert during its training, my life has not been the same as it is. It was moving my mind so deep. I am still grateful to the teacher having given me the chance then. 

Passion is followed by ressurection. It is represented with this season with every life reviving after a long severe winter. Our life may end any time and hopeully we may see old family members and friends after death. Passion and followeing ressurection of Jesus Christ tells us how we should live and die. 

In this Passion, I believe the whole story converges into the last chorus, Nr 68, I believe. I love it most among all recitatives, choruses or arias. It was played in the funeral of my father. I might have written about it somewhere in this blog but can't find it. Putting it briefly, as my sister planned, it was played throughout the ceremony and was unintentionally finished at the same time as the coffin was closed. His life in this world ended with the last C minor chord of that music. I felt it was something above our intention.

Recalling all of memories of this great music, I would spend sometime listening to it. Here is the 68th by Gaechinger Kantorei and Bach Collegium Stuttgart conducted by Helmuth Rilling. This is the combination which I listened in the concert early '70s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-rB35BNQz0&list=RDH-rB35BNQz0&start_radio=1

Ants vs humans

Ants work well in group while people won't do without extensive communication, the following article says. 

We, humans, should communicate each other and understand the others' values or ideas. Without it, we are overwhelmed by ants.

The further problem is that fascism and/or cult makes us go straight to the dictator's intention whether it may be right or not. Cult or mind controlling fanaticism may mislead us to nightmare. In such a situation, we are inferior to a group of ants as well.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2414274121