…, or you will be pulled to the dark side.
A beautiful piece:
Reflections on the Age of Anxiety (Eric Allen Bell)
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/reflections-on-age-of-anxiety
2011年1月19日水曜日
2011年1月18日火曜日
Supersonic/Electronic Weapon 不特定多数による長期にわたる原因不明の嫌がらせ（6）
--- I have been mistakenly numbering the tytle of this series of writing (1) but actually I should have numbered them (6)
197. 2011/01/18 The latter half of the last week went by without strong attacks as far as I noticed although some minor annoyances such as sound in my head louder and wavy, pressure on my head when woke up, and the noise like a video game/car blast waking me up early in the morning (on average, I slept around 6 hours during that time).
On Saturday/Sunday night, when I was in the kitchen, some male made an unnatural coughing that sound like laughing right outside of my apartment door. (The apartment building has the gate with automatic keylock, so the person could have gone through it although you can jump in the premise and I had not counted on the device at all.)
Sunday night, the noise of a car blast that goes Boh, Boh, booooooooooooooooh, Boh went on and my ear drums began hurting in the end. The noise kept sounding all day. The car seemed to be running around the areas that surround my place. This used to happen almost every day before. The noise is not very loud but gets on nerves and sometimes diverts your attention when it makes Boh sounds after continuing booooooooooooooo, causing you to make a mistake.
Last night and this morning, I felt rather strong electric shocks on my head many times and in some cases I reflexively huffed or choked. That Boh sound also continued and I wore earmuffs when I went to bed. The electric shocks between my ears were the main shocks of those I wrote above until I took off earmuffs.
197. 2011/01/18 The latter half of the last week went by without strong attacks as far as I noticed although some minor annoyances such as sound in my head louder and wavy, pressure on my head when woke up, and the noise like a video game/car blast waking me up early in the morning (on average, I slept around 6 hours during that time).
On Saturday/Sunday night, when I was in the kitchen, some male made an unnatural coughing that sound like laughing right outside of my apartment door. (The apartment building has the gate with automatic keylock, so the person could have gone through it although you can jump in the premise and I had not counted on the device at all.)
Sunday night, the noise of a car blast that goes Boh, Boh, booooooooooooooooh, Boh went on and my ear drums began hurting in the end. The noise kept sounding all day. The car seemed to be running around the areas that surround my place. This used to happen almost every day before. The noise is not very loud but gets on nerves and sometimes diverts your attention when it makes Boh sounds after continuing booooooooooooooo, causing you to make a mistake.
Last night and this morning, I felt rather strong electric shocks on my head many times and in some cases I reflexively huffed or choked. That Boh sound also continued and I wore earmuffs when I went to bed. The electric shocks between my ears were the main shocks of those I wrote above until I took off earmuffs.
2011年1月14日金曜日
Class Supplement (Adventure or stability?)
☆Writing Topic: There are some people who like adventure and new experiences. They are not afraid to take risks, and they enjoy change in their lives. Other people prefer stable and predictable lifestyles. They do not often change their habits, and they value safety. Compare these two approaches to life. Which approach do you prefer? Explain why.
This writing topic has three parts: hints, a direction, and a question.
♦Hints: “There are some people ….. Other people. …..”
→ Introduction of two types of approaches to life: adventurous or safety-oriented.
♦The direction: “Compare these two approaches to life.”
→ You are required to deal with both types and compare them.
♦The question: “Which approach do you prefer? Explain why.”
→ The question is about your “preference” not “objective judgment.” Therefore, you can be subjective as well as objective when you make your choice.
-- Make sure that your essay covers both the direction and the question.
-- In reality, the life of an individual can be a mixture of both approaches. You try to protect what you have already got while there are times you want change. Thus, you might well be tempted to write, “I cannot say which I prefer.” Technically, to not choose and to explain why you do not can be a way to answer a choice question although it is often more difficult than to choose one and explain why. In this case, however, the topic is more of a question about your way of life, your philosophy. Therefore, I think committing either would make your essay more interesting. Think of a critical decision like going overseas to further your study and experience or staying home and accepting a job that you liked a lot when you tried it as an intern. The choice you would make might help you answer this question.
☆Hints for points
♦Adventurous approach to life
Pros: a variety of experiences, life full of excitement and surprise,
introduce new things into society, make an unexpected discovery
Cons: full of danger and loss etc., “A rolling stone gathers no moss.”
♦Safety-oriented approach to life
Pros: less mistakes or embarrassment, can know one thing/person really well
accomplish a job that demands repetitive tasks such as research, art, etc.
Cons: miss opportunities, become old-fashioned, can be considered boring
It is actually dangerous not to change because the environment constantly changes.
You cannot say that you are really living if you keep avoiding new things.
(= “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” - Neale Donald Walsch - )
This writing topic has three parts: hints, a direction, and a question.
♦Hints: “There are some people ….. Other people. …..”
→ Introduction of two types of approaches to life: adventurous or safety-oriented.
♦The direction: “Compare these two approaches to life.”
→ You are required to deal with both types and compare them.
♦The question: “Which approach do you prefer? Explain why.”
→ The question is about your “preference” not “objective judgment.” Therefore, you can be subjective as well as objective when you make your choice.
-- Make sure that your essay covers both the direction and the question.
-- In reality, the life of an individual can be a mixture of both approaches. You try to protect what you have already got while there are times you want change. Thus, you might well be tempted to write, “I cannot say which I prefer.” Technically, to not choose and to explain why you do not can be a way to answer a choice question although it is often more difficult than to choose one and explain why. In this case, however, the topic is more of a question about your way of life, your philosophy. Therefore, I think committing either would make your essay more interesting. Think of a critical decision like going overseas to further your study and experience or staying home and accepting a job that you liked a lot when you tried it as an intern. The choice you would make might help you answer this question.
☆Hints for points
♦Adventurous approach to life
Pros: a variety of experiences, life full of excitement and surprise,
introduce new things into society, make an unexpected discovery
Cons: full of danger and loss etc., “A rolling stone gathers no moss.”
♦Safety-oriented approach to life
Pros: less mistakes or embarrassment, can know one thing/person really well
accomplish a job that demands repetitive tasks such as research, art, etc.
Cons: miss opportunities, become old-fashioned, can be considered boring
It is actually dangerous not to change because the environment constantly changes.
You cannot say that you are really living if you keep avoiding new things.
(= “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” - Neale Donald Walsch - )
2011年1月13日木曜日
Violence in America
I think, in Japan, aside from its violent history and despite its culture flooded with violent expressions, he would be regarded as a problem by his own people and probably would lose his job if an influential person used the words “kill,” “execute,” “shotgun,” “bullet,” or “take xxx out” in a way that can be an instigation, mentioning politicians or someone with liberal ideas, which is what particular American conservative leaders have been doing and raising issues about which is considered “controversial” there.
Personally, it is sad because I love America and Americans.
Sources:
Giffords Shooting - Right Wing Media & Politicians To Blame? (The Young Turks)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyqmZs0VoPw
Cenk's Controversial Blog On Loughner Shootings (The Young Turks)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO9JajhZf2g&feature=channel
Conservatives Create Violent Atmosphere - 'Cenk Attack' On MSNBC (MSNBC)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9ZF_wog1JE
Personally, it is sad because I love America and Americans.
Sources:
Giffords Shooting - Right Wing Media & Politicians To Blame? (The Young Turks)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyqmZs0VoPw
Cenk's Controversial Blog On Loughner Shootings (The Young Turks)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO9JajhZf2g&feature=channel
Conservatives Create Violent Atmosphere - 'Cenk Attack' On MSNBC (MSNBC)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9ZF_wog1JE
2011年1月12日水曜日
Supersonic/Electronic Weapon 不特定多数による長期にわたる原因不明の嫌がらせ（６）
196. This is not directly related to what I call the supersonic/electronic weapon attacks, but as I have written before, these attacks seem to be related a wider phenomenon where I have been harassed infinite number of people who seem to know me and think they can do anything to me, for which I cannot find no reason. The following are the two things that caught my attention among countless harassments I went through, although much less nasty compared to before, during this holiday season with which my moving house coincided. Both of them are related to the fact that people whom I do not know seem to know me and my private life.
1) 2010/12/30 I went into a burger shop in the station building in my town for late lunch. It is new and I went into a non-smoking section, which was half the size of a basketball court. There was an old couple near the door, a young man near them, and a woman in the back. I sat in the next division of the woman and started eating. Then soon the old lady of the couple started talking rather loudly although I could not catch what she was saying. She was talking to the man, who seemed to be her husband, but looked at me very often with an expression of contempt and sneer. The man also looked at me as she looked at me but he seemed to do so reluctantly and looked slightly confused his expression was mostly normal, as a customer at a burger shop, which was kind of weird to me, who is used to be treated nastily by most males who are strangers to me, although these days I have come to see many acting like humans these days. The couple was totally unfamiliar to me and I have been in this town over the past two years, having no intimate relationships with the locals, as most singles living and working in Tokyo do. Suddenly, the woman became louder and I heard her say, looking at me indignantly, “Dame, dame,…kirai ni nattakartte dame-yo. (No, no,…even though …has/have become pretty, no.” “Dame” is used to mean someone/something does not meet the standard, hence meaning not qualified, not enough, incompetent and so on. I heard her words but I was rather focused on my lunch and, realizing I did not like drinking thick coffee without drinking alongside, I talked to myself, “I should have bought some water.” Then in a few seconds, the young man stood up, looking at me with a humane sad face, with the expression that could be translated as sympathy, and left. Then I became conscious of the woman’s words and paid more attention to them. They kept talking looking at me incessantly. The man once said, “Nonki na monda,” meaning “That carefree thing,” when I happened to absent-mindedly enjoying my modest lunch, looking up. I left the shop right after eating food, leaving the couple. I have no idea about what they were talking about. The only change about me that seems to be relevant to the woman’s words, “become pretty,” is my new room. I myself is far from becoming pretty as I am 51 years and 9 months old and dress and as unfashionably as I always have. Although the rent has become lower because it is farther from the station than my old apartment, my new place is new, a little larger, and neat, while the old place was more than 20 years old and much smaller. About “dame,” I do not see what that woman thinks “dame” about me. Also, although I have many shortcomings and lack many important properties, I do not see why she a total stranger, has to determine the legitimacy or level of any element of mine. I try not to take things personally, but I often see people whom I do not know but who seem to know me and my private life and who blatantly and enthusiastically talk about me. (My PC suddenly shut down when I wrote the last sentence.)
2) On some day between January 4th and 7th, I was on the subway Hanzomon-line to work when two young women sitting across from me started talking both looking at me right after they took seats. One of them, looking at me, with a strange expression which can be translated as a sneer, said, “Ryori nante shinai-yo ne! (Who cooks these days! Nobody does, right?)” I have no idea about what she meant, but just remember having had people with the same expression say something like that, kind of an insinuation, to me although those utterances in the past made sense, which means that I had some idea about the words or I was reminded of something related to me by their words. Again the women and other people who did the same kind of things to me were perfect strangers to me. The topics seem to have been often related to households, but I am not sure.
1) 2010/12/30 I went into a burger shop in the station building in my town for late lunch. It is new and I went into a non-smoking section, which was half the size of a basketball court. There was an old couple near the door, a young man near them, and a woman in the back. I sat in the next division of the woman and started eating. Then soon the old lady of the couple started talking rather loudly although I could not catch what she was saying. She was talking to the man, who seemed to be her husband, but looked at me very often with an expression of contempt and sneer. The man also looked at me as she looked at me but he seemed to do so reluctantly and looked slightly confused his expression was mostly normal, as a customer at a burger shop, which was kind of weird to me, who is used to be treated nastily by most males who are strangers to me, although these days I have come to see many acting like humans these days. The couple was totally unfamiliar to me and I have been in this town over the past two years, having no intimate relationships with the locals, as most singles living and working in Tokyo do. Suddenly, the woman became louder and I heard her say, looking at me indignantly, “Dame, dame,…kirai ni nattakartte dame-yo. (No, no,…even though …has/have become pretty, no.” “Dame” is used to mean someone/something does not meet the standard, hence meaning not qualified, not enough, incompetent and so on. I heard her words but I was rather focused on my lunch and, realizing I did not like drinking thick coffee without drinking alongside, I talked to myself, “I should have bought some water.” Then in a few seconds, the young man stood up, looking at me with a humane sad face, with the expression that could be translated as sympathy, and left. Then I became conscious of the woman’s words and paid more attention to them. They kept talking looking at me incessantly. The man once said, “Nonki na monda,” meaning “That carefree thing,” when I happened to absent-mindedly enjoying my modest lunch, looking up. I left the shop right after eating food, leaving the couple. I have no idea about what they were talking about. The only change about me that seems to be relevant to the woman’s words, “become pretty,” is my new room. I myself is far from becoming pretty as I am 51 years and 9 months old and dress and as unfashionably as I always have. Although the rent has become lower because it is farther from the station than my old apartment, my new place is new, a little larger, and neat, while the old place was more than 20 years old and much smaller. About “dame,” I do not see what that woman thinks “dame” about me. Also, although I have many shortcomings and lack many important properties, I do not see why she a total stranger, has to determine the legitimacy or level of any element of mine. I try not to take things personally, but I often see people whom I do not know but who seem to know me and my private life and who blatantly and enthusiastically talk about me. (My PC suddenly shut down when I wrote the last sentence.)
2) On some day between January 4th and 7th, I was on the subway Hanzomon-line to work when two young women sitting across from me started talking both looking at me right after they took seats. One of them, looking at me, with a strange expression which can be translated as a sneer, said, “Ryori nante shinai-yo ne! (Who cooks these days! Nobody does, right?)” I have no idea about what she meant, but just remember having had people with the same expression say something like that, kind of an insinuation, to me although those utterances in the past made sense, which means that I had some idea about the words or I was reminded of something related to me by their words. Again the women and other people who did the same kind of things to me were perfect strangers to me. The topics seem to have been often related to households, but I am not sure.
Supersonic/Electronic Weapon 不特定多数による長期にわたる原因不明の嫌がらせ（６）
195. 2011/01/12 Except for last night, I have experienced what seemed to be the continuation of attacks I used to experience in my old apartment since my last record. Here are the notes I took from 2011/01/06-10
2011/01/05-07 1 ) Strong fits when I was going into sleep every night, although other than them I had rater better sleeps. 2) Light and geometric pattern whirling toward my closed eyes facing the street-side wall. (I had had same kinds of optical illusion-like phenomena in my old apartment.) 3) My right foot was raised suddenly like a puppet foot moving in an unnatural way.
2011/01/08-09 Very big fits held my whole body many times when I was going into sleep but still was conscious. At 6:00 a.m., I was woken up by a low frequency sound which was like a TV game and/or a car blast, which often suddenly became loud and made me alert when I was falling asleep. I woke up around 9:30 a.m. and felt some strong pressure on my head. The sound in my head was loud.
2011/01/10 Bog fits when going into sleep. At around 6:00 a.m., woke up because the sound in my head was loud and wavy like thousands of cicadas. I slid to the side of the point in my room under which there is a steel frame and in a second the sound in my head became normal. In a few minutes, to see what happens, I moved back to the position where I was lying when my head noise was strange. Nothing happened. After a while, TV game/car blast-like noise started and I wore earmuffs.
2011/01/05-07 1 ) Strong fits when I was going into sleep every night, although other than them I had rater better sleeps. 2) Light and geometric pattern whirling toward my closed eyes facing the street-side wall. (I had had same kinds of optical illusion-like phenomena in my old apartment.) 3) My right foot was raised suddenly like a puppet foot moving in an unnatural way.
2011/01/08-09 Very big fits held my whole body many times when I was going into sleep but still was conscious. At 6:00 a.m., I was woken up by a low frequency sound which was like a TV game and/or a car blast, which often suddenly became loud and made me alert when I was falling asleep. I woke up around 9:30 a.m. and felt some strong pressure on my head. The sound in my head was loud.
2011/01/10 Bog fits when going into sleep. At around 6:00 a.m., woke up because the sound in my head was loud and wavy like thousands of cicadas. I slid to the side of the point in my room under which there is a steel frame and in a second the sound in my head became normal. In a few minutes, to see what happens, I moved back to the position where I was lying when my head noise was strange. Nothing happened. After a while, TV game/car blast-like noise started and I wore earmuffs.
2011年1月8日土曜日
Class Supplement (TOEFL Essay Writing: Should smoking be illegal?)
Writing Topic: Some people think that smoking cigarettes should become illegal, since it provides little benefit and a great deal of health risk, others feel that individuals should be free to smoke cigarettes if they choose to do so. Do you think cigarette smoking should be stopped by making it illegal or should it remain legal?
☆ Writing Topic with some hints
The question itself is simple: Should cigarette smoking be illegal or not? However, before the question, this topic has some hints for you to consider. You could either discuss the topic focusing on the hints or add your own view point, although it might not be wise to entirely ignore the point of the hints. In this topic, the point of the hints is the choice between prioritizing individuals’ health and valuing freedom and personal responsibility. In other words, this question can be translated as follows:
Should cigarette smoking be illegal to protect one’s health or legal to value one’s freedom and personal responsibility?
☆ Hints for points
Cigarette smoking should be illegal because …
♦it is toxic and causes cancer and other serious diseases.
♦it is addictive.
--- The government should protect individuals’ health.
♦there is the problem of second-hand smoke/smoking.
counter-argument
There are measures to take to prevent second-hand smoking (separate-smoking, ban on smoking in public areas)
(Smoking will remain legal while smoking in certain areas will be illegal)
counter-counter-argument
Separate-smoking and ban on smoking public areas are not practical because there
are many smokers who do not comply with the rules and you cannot catch or shut
up smoke completely.
--- To protect public health, individual freedom can be limited.
Cigarette smoking should not be illegal because …
♦you have the right to do whatever you want to do even if it endangers your health.
other dangerous indulgence such as fatty foods, alcoholic drinks, free-fall flights, etc.
♦there are things that we do not like but that we have to tolerate others enjoying.
smelly food, some kind of music, scary fashion, etc.
♦smoking is a necessary evil like drinking and gambling.
to help smokers release stress
to keep society in order
the cigarette industry will go underground if cigarettes are banned
the economy will be affected (the tobacco industry, restaurants, coffee shops, music clubs, etc.)
tax revenue (1 trillion yen as of 2009)
--- As long as measures are taken to prevent second-hand smoking,
the choice between health and fun is up to each individual.
Essay for ideas and expressions (rewrite):
Even though it might be difficult to put in practice because of smokers’ feelings and economic circumstances, cigarettes should be made illegal to protect younger generations and to solve the problem of second-hand smoke.
By making smoking illegal, the number of those who start smoking can be greatly reduced. Smokers find it difficult, and many of them believe it unnecessary, to quit smoking even though it has been scientifically proved that smoking causes lung cancer and other diseases. This is because smoking is addictive. When some toxic substance is addictive, making it illegal is one of the effective ways to reduce its harm. This is especially effective in preventing those who are not addicted, mostly the young, from initiating the use, since people usually stay away from things that are illegal.
Smoking seems to be a necessary evil and a matter of self-responsibility just like drinking and gambling, but the problem of second-hand smoke separates it from them. Cigarette smoke directly harms those who are around. Children of smokers are more susceptible to respiratory diseases than those of non-smokers, and many people are sensitive to smoke. Although separate-smoking and public smoking ban are promoted, many smokers do not conform to the rules and it is impossible to block the contaminated air completely. When some toxic fumes are around in everyday scenes, it is natural for the government to regulate them.
Banning smoking is difficult but possible. It seems that cigarettes stay legal because their social influence is not as drastic as that of drugs and they support the economy. Cigarettes do not make the user dangerous the way drugs do and smokers can keep functioning for decades. Also, the cigarette industry is an established part of economy and produce tax money, so that it is very difficult to terminate it. However, changes necessary for public health have been made in the past. Coal was replaced by oil, which is cleaner than coal, and now oil is being replaced by much cleaner energy sources. Cigarettes themselves were a replacement, advocated by the government, for chewing tobacco, which was found to be contributing to the transmission of tuberculosis through saliva spat on the ground by the users. When the public health is at risk, the government should and can take measures.
Society is ultimately to be totally smoke-free to protect the health of citizens, especially younger generations, although care should be taken for smokers and those involved in the industry.
☆ Writing Topic with some hints
The question itself is simple: Should cigarette smoking be illegal or not? However, before the question, this topic has some hints for you to consider. You could either discuss the topic focusing on the hints or add your own view point, although it might not be wise to entirely ignore the point of the hints. In this topic, the point of the hints is the choice between prioritizing individuals’ health and valuing freedom and personal responsibility. In other words, this question can be translated as follows:
Should cigarette smoking be illegal to protect one’s health or legal to value one’s freedom and personal responsibility?
☆ Hints for points
Cigarette smoking should be illegal because …
♦it is toxic and causes cancer and other serious diseases.
♦it is addictive.
--- The government should protect individuals’ health.
♦there is the problem of second-hand smoke/smoking.
counter-argument
There are measures to take to prevent second-hand smoking (separate-smoking, ban on smoking in public areas)
(Smoking will remain legal while smoking in certain areas will be illegal)
counter-counter-argument
Separate-smoking and ban on smoking public areas are not practical because there
are many smokers who do not comply with the rules and you cannot catch or shut
up smoke completely.
--- To protect public health, individual freedom can be limited.
Cigarette smoking should not be illegal because …
♦you have the right to do whatever you want to do even if it endangers your health.
other dangerous indulgence such as fatty foods, alcoholic drinks, free-fall flights, etc.
♦there are things that we do not like but that we have to tolerate others enjoying.
smelly food, some kind of music, scary fashion, etc.
♦smoking is a necessary evil like drinking and gambling.
to help smokers release stress
to keep society in order
the cigarette industry will go underground if cigarettes are banned
the economy will be affected (the tobacco industry, restaurants, coffee shops, music clubs, etc.)
tax revenue (1 trillion yen as of 2009)
--- As long as measures are taken to prevent second-hand smoking,
the choice between health and fun is up to each individual.
Essay for ideas and expressions (rewrite):
Even though it might be difficult to put in practice because of smokers’ feelings and economic circumstances, cigarettes should be made illegal to protect younger generations and to solve the problem of second-hand smoke.
By making smoking illegal, the number of those who start smoking can be greatly reduced. Smokers find it difficult, and many of them believe it unnecessary, to quit smoking even though it has been scientifically proved that smoking causes lung cancer and other diseases. This is because smoking is addictive. When some toxic substance is addictive, making it illegal is one of the effective ways to reduce its harm. This is especially effective in preventing those who are not addicted, mostly the young, from initiating the use, since people usually stay away from things that are illegal.
Smoking seems to be a necessary evil and a matter of self-responsibility just like drinking and gambling, but the problem of second-hand smoke separates it from them. Cigarette smoke directly harms those who are around. Children of smokers are more susceptible to respiratory diseases than those of non-smokers, and many people are sensitive to smoke. Although separate-smoking and public smoking ban are promoted, many smokers do not conform to the rules and it is impossible to block the contaminated air completely. When some toxic fumes are around in everyday scenes, it is natural for the government to regulate them.
Banning smoking is difficult but possible. It seems that cigarettes stay legal because their social influence is not as drastic as that of drugs and they support the economy. Cigarettes do not make the user dangerous the way drugs do and smokers can keep functioning for decades. Also, the cigarette industry is an established part of economy and produce tax money, so that it is very difficult to terminate it. However, changes necessary for public health have been made in the past. Coal was replaced by oil, which is cleaner than coal, and now oil is being replaced by much cleaner energy sources. Cigarettes themselves were a replacement, advocated by the government, for chewing tobacco, which was found to be contributing to the transmission of tuberculosis through saliva spat on the ground by the users. When the public health is at risk, the government should and can take measures.
Society is ultimately to be totally smoke-free to protect the health of citizens, especially younger generations, although care should be taken for smokers and those involved in the industry.
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