A new variant Omicron emerging

A new variant designated as Omicron by WHO yesterday was reported from Rep. South Africa.

BBC news says it is a heavily mutated variant with 50 loci of mutation. Among them, 30 are related with S protein and 10 with the receptor binding domain. Delta strain has only 2 for the latter domain. It seems mutation is remarked at loci involving infectivity of the strain. It is not clear yet whether it could evade immunity or not.

In a province of RSA, this strain has replaced Delta strain in a couple of weeks. There are already 2 infected in Hong Kong, who seem to have been infected through airbourne infection. Keep it in mind both of them have been vaccinated twice. There are no epidemiological findings reported on this strain yet. We should be careful about it possibly with even more contagious characteristics than previous strains.

As stated above, WHO has categorized this strain as VOC with the nomination of Omicron.   

We should not be panic with this strain emerging in RSA. But, since it is getting into winter in the north hemisphere now, a season of vulnerability to viral infections, we should be even more conscious about precautions against COVID 19. 

The final drive on my Nissan

 In this week end, I would say farewell to my car of Nissan, which I have been driving for the past 10 years. It was just after the big earthquake. It is a medium sized sedan with hybrid system. I loved its smooth run and comfortable devices including HDD. Commuting to and from the work on this car, I have listened to a lot of music with it while recording them into the HDD. Possibly more than 200 CDs.

It still runs fine. But I am concerned about the gas mileage and its size, both of which are not suitable for a retired person. Compact cars run at much lower gas mileage while they are much easier to drive in the crowded city area. Those are the reason why I decided to change the car to a compact one. Thinking of my age, wondering if I should get a new one or not, I have made up my mind that way.

For the last long drive on this car, I have gone to Abukuma Mtns, north east of here, along the Pacific Ocean. It is the place where I have taken my family for drive a number of times and have already previously posted some photos in this blog. It took me a couple of hours to go there. The traffic was not crowded at all among the mountains.

Hananuki Valley among the mountains has welcomed me with the colorful trees. It was always in summer when I visited this area. I have never seen this beautiful clors in the forests there. Even on a plain week day, there were a few tourists for viewing fall foliage. The small river was running rather vigorously. This river runs only 13 or 14 miles from the origin in the mountains and had caused flood frequently. There were a dam constructed in it mainly for flood control, which has made a small lake there.

This is the car I say goodbye soon. For the past 10 years, I have had a lot of life events and have driven it whenever they happened to me. It may be a bit funny to the others but I could not help feeling emotional at this farewell. It has made me relieved with its coziness. 

  

43rd anniversary

 It will be our 43rd anniversary tomorrow. There will still be a lot of steep slopes ahead of us. As we promised in the engaged days, go on through them supporting each other however hard it may be.

As this poem of Robert Browning, quoted a few times in the past, says, I would go forward with Chiaki;

 Grow Old

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in His hand

Who saith 'A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half; trust God: see all nor be afraid!

At the medical school campus where we served residency. In 1980. 

Vegetable farm and intruder

Tatsoi, lettuce and white radish etc are growing. Typical fall/winter vegetables. Cabbage and chinese cabbage are ready to ripen soon. Broccoli and a variety of beans are prepared for the next spring. 

This is a corner of the garden farm, a tiny farm. You may realize there are a lot of metal supporters stood around the farm like a fence. A intruder has come in the farm and left footprints everywhere. I have set them to avoid it coming in.

It is our cat, Hikaru, who does that mischief. He doesn't understand that he won't be welcomed in the farm however comfortable it may be for him to walk in the soft soil of the farm.  The supporter fence did not work.

I have given it up to train him not to invade the farm. But I have decided to plant more number of vegetables. It won't disturb us so much even if he harms some in a large number of plants grown.

After harvesting the last lot of tomatoes, I have taken away all the tomato plants. Getting older, I find myself feeling sad to such plants finishing their lives.? Sentimentalism? Maybe, that's right. Anything mortal draws my interest and makes me feel sympathetic to it. It is a fact that we belong to such nature mortal.

Reading the last chapter of "Jean Christophe" by Romain Rolland recently, which was a favorite novel in my teenage days since it was recommended by a teacher at elementary school days, I was again touched with the last scene that Christophe meets a child who answers Christophe he is the day to be born. We are in or a part of the flow of life which goes from the past to the future, unknown to us. In the very last day of life, it is questioned if I could tell myself about own proper engagement in the flow and if I have lived it as it was required.

I would cook chicken and egg plants with the white radish harvested in the garden farm this evening. It is seasoned with vinegar soy sauce.

National election

It was the election held in our country yesterday. 

Even though there have been a lot of serious issues to be discussed before it, the government as well as the mass media were not willing to do so. The turnout has resulted in quite low. I believe young people and the unorganized part of the people have lost interests and have not voted in it. 

In such a case, the ruling party, LDPJ, does pretty well with the aid of the party of Komeitou, which owns its strong support base of Soukagakkai, a cult religion. LDPJ was supposed to lose in the election due to the recent policy failure especially for the COVID19 pandemic and to a lot of corruption cases for the past 9 years. Their loss in the election was minimized.

Even worse, a regional party ruling Osaka, named Ishin, has increased the seats four times more than before and has become the 3rd "opposition" party. It is the political faction which jeopardized Osaka in the pandemic apparently due to the policy of neoliberalism. This party is essentially a fascist faction as well. It is never an opposition party.  

The recent article on Ishin by the Guardian is here; https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/01/japan-election-rightwing-populists-sweep-vote-in-osaka

It was only a few weeks prior to the election that the opposition parties could form the united front. It has not fully worked this time. There was something suggestive of the tricks to reduce the voter turnout that the government and the mass media allied to the former had plotted. One example was that the voting hours were shortened by 1 to even 4 hours. In the election campaign period, the mass media have, if not all, neglected programs which could have aroused discussion in the public. Remember the freedom of the press in our country remains being only in the 67th in the world, which is comparable to that of undeveloped countries or of the countries of dictatorship. 

I am disappointed at this result. It should be criticized that the government has made corruptions or falsification of public papers or of public data in administration. The ruling party should have been eliminated in the politics. Politics based on hoax and corruption could never be lasted. The present situation reminds me of the USSR in the last years which was losing its sovereignty.  

It depends on when the unorganized people realize the situation and go for voting that this country could fix and straighten its way to go. The mass media should play the crucial part. But most of them are threatened economically being deprived the income with advertisement by the internet and would ally the government and the financial circles on the background for economical benefit.

Garden/farm going into hibernation

It's been a while since I posted the last one. Not very busy but still involved in the garden/farm work.  

The persimmon at a corner of yard is getting ripened. Not as usual, crows won't come to enjoy them. Possibly, owing to our kitty making patrol there in the day time. I am not sure. Sliced persimmon is put in the salad.

Fall/winter vegetables are growing even though some are eaten by worms. Not very bad. Chinese cabbage. It may become a material for a hot pot dish this winter. The other vegetables like onion, broccoli, cabbage, leek or a few kinds of beans are growing as well. Some of them will go through the winter and be grown early in next spring.

This camellia is coming out as usual in this season in a year. This tree is 30 or 40 years old. As told before, it was planted by my father. I could picture my parents watching these trees like this from their house on a peaceful day years ago when they were alive.

As a whole, every plant or weed is getting inactive and slowly growing if any. The garden is coming into hibernation until next spring. I will be less hustling in the garden/farm for a while.

Three taro plants were harvested. Well grown even though not cared for so much. I have cooked some of them with chicken while taro was fresh.

Listening to the intermezzos by Brahms in his last part of life as a composer. This one, OP119-1, makes my heart tremble. As I introduced his OP118-1 as a music of solitude before, an image Brahms was composing this piece all alone with his piano, giving up composing complicated orchestral or chamber music works. 

https://youtu.be/lPTCSnHfwxs

Brahms has written to Clara Schumann that he wanted to compose this piece for her. It should not be emphasized too much to play it as slow as possible, as he said. He also says it is a music of melancholy. Each dissonant featured in it should sound even like sensual. I could not really understand the sensual characteristics but feel the beginning theme as if we were floating in the air. This feature of frequently used dissonant and apparently losing tonality may usher in the modern atonality music blooming in Vienna in the early 20th century.

Anyway, it is a music suitable for this season.

 

A Driving Trip to Hakuba in Shinshyu

I have started writing this post in the end of last month. I should finish it before the content becomes not updated.

~~~

A few days ago, I was enchanted again for a driving trip to Shinshyu by very clear and crisp weather after it had been too wet for the past weeks.

It was not planned precisely before leaving for the drive. I just wanted to feel the breeze starting to blow over there in this season. And, thinking of selling this car I have used for the past ten years, I would enjoy the comfort it could offer to me for the last trip.

When I quit my home around 9:30AM, I said good by to our cat, who came closer to me without replying anything. It has been over a year since he came to us when he was only a tiny kitty. 

This is Lake Aoki in a valley of Fossa Magna. A beautiful place surrounded with high mountains. It is the lake I and a few members of the university orchestra used to swim without knowing it was forbidden when I was a med student. I have written about this episode in a previous post. The same story would be repeated! in the latter part of this post. It is almost half a century ago!

A road running along the lake. Very little traffic.

This is the building of the hotel which I and my wife stayed for a day a year or two after marriage. It is along the beach of the lake. We could enjoy the view over the lake from the room. Sadly, the hotel has ceased its business and the building was used for an office of a camper place.

Through its entrance, the lake was visible through the window.

Another view of the lake. Quiet and serene. No tourists around there possibly owing to the Corona crisis. But this place may be empty even without the pandemic.

My old car of Nissan at the lake. I have been on this car for 10 years. In the mess of the big earthquake and the nuclear plant accident, it was a symbol of the hope for future for me. I have recorded a bunch of classical music CDs into the HDD of the car and have enjoyed them on the way to various places including this drive. 

As written in the beginning of this post, I as well as a few friends used to swim in the lake in the summer camp of the university orchestra days. When we landed after swimming across the lake, we were surprised to find a sign telling swimming was forbidden due to the risk by sudden drop of the water temperature in the lake. We used to walk back to the camp place in wet swimming suites. A lot of talking and laughter on the way. This is the road we walked through a range of a mountain. What joy we have had those days! 

This is the summer camp place of the orchestra. The guest house was still running its business. This is the hall the orchestra used to rehearse. We have been there for a few times for the camp. At the very first time when I was a beginner and was not on the stage, the orchestra was practicing the 3rd symphony of Brahms.  

This guest house hall must be used for orchestral rehearsal. An object of a note was hung at the entrance. 

There is a small river running along the street the hall faces to. Quite the same as 40 years ago. The hall has had a bit larger window, I guess. Through that window sunray has spilled into the hall. I could not forget the scene a good cellist had played the 1st sonata of Brahms in a concert within the orchestra at the end of a camp. In reproduction part of the 1st movement, cello starts singing the theme in low voice accompanied by piano playing beautiful arpeggio. Each note of the arpeggio has matched the shimmering sun light coming over the river from the mountains. I might have described about this scene in some previous article, which is never forgettable as an event at the very beginning of my cello life.  

I am so glad to find the same scenes there as in my student days while everything is changing in the world.

The railway station building has been rebuilt since those days. But this view to the station from the railway crossing remained same as before. On the right side walk along the railway to the station, we often walked to say good by to those who left the camp before we did. What a sentimentalism!

So that is the story. I am afraid I have written the same memory a few times in the past. But this is the unforgettable place for me as the place I have spent the most brilliant days in my life without knowing that. When we are close to the end of our lives, won't we recall such a thing in order to live the rest of our lives?

I don't know if I could return there. But if things permit me, I sure would do it again. I have found a new route through near the city of Nagano in the mountain area...wondering if it was a better one for me to return here. I would bring my wife for the next trip. Purchasing some Oyaki, steamed bread with salty vegetables in it for a souvenir, I have hurried back home.