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

Is it a hoax or an event going on in Israel?

I have found this graph in a post of facebook. Is this a legitimate data taken by or at Vic 4X6GP?

If this is a right radiation data, it could mean certain nuclear power plant/nuclear weapon has been destroyed in Israel.

I am afraid it would lower the threshold for Netaniyafu to resort to nuclear weapon. 

Looking it up, I found this is a legitimate data recorded in Rehovot; https://radmon.org/index.php?

I hope Vic is doing OK. This could mean there have been intensive bombing in Israel including nuclear facilities.

 

Like a kaleidoscope of marching flower trees

No renewal of this blog for some time. Quite some events have been occuring around me and around the world as well. I was not lazy but have been too busy in the farm. Weeds are starting challenging me now. I would add some more posts later than this one with photos of the flower trees

Inbetween from magnolia to cherry blossomes, we had this couple of apricot trees coming out fully. The younger one in front and the older one in back. Wondering if they would bear fruits this year. The fruits have been eaten by bugs for the past few years. Yet, no pesticides will be given to them.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

The younger tree.

En route to the super market I go for shopping once two days, the cherry trees are fully out now. It comes out around this time in a year and has been posted with photos in the past. It seems like an arcade. It is a marvellous view and I could not stop taking photos.

At such beautiful scenery, I could not help wondering how many times I could see it from now. It is a meaningless question. Let it be as it is. Experiencing it again this spring may be good enough. I should appreciate it without worrying about the future.

 

A moment glancing at eternity

Even more specutacular view of the magnolia. It's standing brilliantly in the air.

Whenever I see something recurring once in a year, preferably in spring, I always recall someone or some people who used to be around me and to influence a lot on me. Most of them already passed away.

A couple of days ago, when I finished caring for the farm in the garden and stood up there, this flower tree came up in my eyes. It was when I recalled my aunt and the people involved in the sanatorium at this place. Aunt told in her semi autobiography titled as "Mathmatics of Love", she described an episode with a patient seriously ill. That person fatally ill and, being agonized in the death bed, asked her "How long should I put up with this?" Aunt answered exactly the time left to the patient. Of course, I have never been at such a scene by myself but easily imagine such an episode has been repeated a lot of times in the era when there were no med or hospice function at such a small private facility.

My parents knew each other at that sanatorium and have had their family. I was born 4 years after the WWII had ended. As written in a previous post, one of the earliest memories in my life was hymn in acapella sung by the staff and the patients heard through pine trees. And in the very end of my life, I am allowed to live at the same place now. I could not help feeling gratitude to it. That sanatorium is not known to people any longer. Only my sister and a nephew know of that in real time. The fact aunt and some patients without any assistance have lived that way won't be changed even if it is forgotten.

I have maybe reiterated this in this blog. It was another moment when I remembered it again and could not stir myself on the farm for a moment.    

Magnolia will hand its role over to cherry flowers in a week or two. 

 

Economic sanctions killing annually more than 500,000 people

The Lancet Global Health, one of the most famous medical journal, has published an article on the victims due to economic sanctions for half a century, from 1971 to 2021 in 152 countries. Economic sanctions and mortality rate are positively and significantly proportionate. The casualities due to sanctions are estimated annually 564,258. Children under 5 years of age is most vulnerable to them. The author says it is comparable to the casualities by arm conflicts. The editorial of this journal points out it is much worse than the latter; the latter is annually 106,000.

The author stressed that the USA and Eu, most likely to take economic and unilateral sanctions as a tool to realize any objective in the international politics, should be careful on the negative effect on the population in the developing countries. Even the sanctions imposed by UN are not free from this adverse effect of sanctions.

Wag the Dog?...It is out of argument. 

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(25)00189-5/fulltext

Magnolia in full bloom

Literally in a day since the buds became remarkable, the white magnolia in our garden has come almost fully out. Being bathed in the westering sun, it looked like shining. It is not an exaggeration but looks that way in this season in a year.

A few days ago, when it was budding, I have shared with my brother a memory of mother telling me "The magnolia is fully out" with full smile on her face. Maybe, I have told the same story to him in the past. He was still pleased to hear that.

 

 The same episode is repeated in certain season. But nothing remains the same. Mother has passed away. We are getting older and losing capabilities in life. So is this old tree even though it goes slower than us.

Brother will retire from psychiatric profession in half a year and will be settled down in Sendai where he has spent his university days. He and his wife will have own house over there. Sometimes making correspndence with him and often surprised to have shared the same thing or to know what he has done, which I have never known of. It is good for me to have someone whom I could share old memories with.