Kurashi - News From Japan

Interesting - if you like a proper Science Fiction yarn, set in space, and don't care so much for the next Star Wars movie. Here is a pretty realistic take at the challenges and conflicts on an imagined International Space Station, before that came to be. The issue is how to defend it, or try to make it stay in peace. Good quality acting, and the kid that gets his toy gun taken away is adorable. From back when the "Red" Chinese were the enemy... Terrific music by Lalo Schifrin .

Love music, love all of those who wrote the great music. Homage to Monica Zetterlund in Tokyo this weekend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugTa4rU5-TI http://youtu.be/ugTa4rU5-TI Published on 13 Nov 2014 http://www.bluenote.co.jp/jp/artists/... モニカ・ゼタールンドを演じた映画が話題、スウェーデンの 人気シンガーとニルス・ラン・ドーキーの豪華顔合わせ EDDA MAGNASON with NIELS LAN DOKY TRIO "Homage to MONICA ZETTERLUND" エッダ・マグナソン with ニルス・ラン・ドーキー・トリオ “オマージュ・トゥ・モニカ・ゼタールンド” DATE & SHOWTIMES 2014 12.20 sat. - 12.21 sun. [1st]Open4:00pm Start5:00pm　[2nd]Open7:00pm Start8:00pm MEMBER Edda Magnason(vo) エッダ・マグナソン（ヴォーカル） Niels Lan Doky(p) ニルス・ラン・ドーキー（ピアノ） Ira Coleman(b) アイラ・コールマン（ベース） Niclas Bardeleben(ds) ニクラス・バーデレーベン（ドラムス） 後援：スウェーデン大使館 後援：デンマーク王国大使館 後援：J-WAVE 協力：ブロードメディア・スタジオ Category Music Licence Standard YouTube Licence

So many events, so much focus on our planet and our future. So much to feel good about! Earth day all over Japan. Here is more from the event in Nara , the ancient capital of Yamato, or Wa. Focus on how history connects to the future. That's life! Cool marching band, from 2:30 or so!

For a much longer exploration of music created here, do enjoy Joe Hisashi in Budokan! And here is Takemitsu Toru, legendary composer for classic Japanese films. Takemitsu: Fantasma/Cantos II performed by Kevin Thompson, trombone, with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kevin Field, 29 November 2008

I don't fly much these days, I feel I have more or less used up my miles when I was younger, and thinking about the planet, we all ought to travel more climate-friendly (and travel less). Be that as it may, there is also something subconscious about flying - I dream about hovering, levitating, using nothing at all to be air-borne. Might have something to do with watching Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future, 25 years ago? Remember all those hover skateboards escapes and cool cars that didn't need any roads? Or how about Kiki's Delivery Service , a wonderful Ghibli feature from 1989, set mostly in the imaginary skies over Visby, Gotland, a small island in Sweden. Kiki battles her reluctant broom as she saves the day. I like how they used that airplane in the beginning, a  Handley Page , only a handful were built in the UK. G-AAUD, production number 42/3, was named after the Carthaginian explorer Hanno the Navigator , who explored the Atlantic coast of Africa in approx....

Coal mining is a dirty job, but someone has to do it... And in Tagawa, Fukuoka prefecture on Kyushu, they have turned it into a tourist attraction complete with a Coal Mine Festival . And now they are taking their show on the road. Don't miss the Tankou-bushi Festival at Nippori JR station in Tokyo (East Exit) in collaboration with the Nippori Yume Donya. The Tankou-bushi tune, which is a popular dance at many summer festivals all over Japan, laments the hard days and nights of people in a small mining town. The movements of the slow, walking-style dance copy the way coal is dug out of the mine and thrown on cars in the mine shafts. Well, kind of. As with any dance, it looks a lot better than that! Here is a Youtube video from an event this summer in Hayama, where 佐野 真澄 （Gacya） leads her ensemble (complete with a trombone) and the crowd just can't stop dancing on the beach. Can it be more "Summertime in Japan" than this? The Sunday, September 2 show in Nippo...

Here are a couple of links, in no particular order, for those of you who still read blogs, in the hot days of Twitter and Face (?) -book and whatnot. Potentially very expensive Samsung vs. Apple patent lawsuit accidentally reveals that the original design of the iPhone or whatever you call them was influenced by - Sony (back when they where working with Swedish Ericsson). BoingBoing: Early iPhone mockups show Sony influence The current iPhone design, it turns out, was in the works since 2006—and was so influenced by Sony that they even put its logo on the mockups. Court filings in the ongoing legal battle between Apple and Samsung reveal an early concept by Apple designer Shin Nishibori which closely resembles the current-gen iPhones, complete with the silver band .  The Verge has 754 comments on its article, so obviously this matters to some people... What really matters? North Korea's News Service ( KNS ) in Tokyo calls South Korean president Lee " rat-like ...

Gorgeous, young, and from Venezuela. The Financial Times just hailed him as "The modern maestro" pointing out that classical orchestra conductors are no longer of the old breed, like Karajan, Haitink or Mravinsky... I did not know that conductors "did not exist until the mid 19th-century." Only then did the rapidly growing size and sophistication of the orchestra necessitate that someone other than the principal violinist beat time  and coordinate the players. Since the Ft.com does not like linking, I will not. Sad. Such great writing, on pink paper, not to be available to the reading, listening, thinking public. If they could explain why I should not quote, then so be it. I think the writers should protest, and the editors, and tell the owners of such great newspapers that we need to have them online, available, for the public good, for history, for democracy and for education. "The seed was sown to flower again... The Lord of the harvest goes forth...

Freak storm today, just as I was going to enjoy Kyoto... Yesterday was nice though, with early spring weather, 16 C, false hopes as it were. Massive delays with canceled flights and delayed Shinkansen trains. Speaking of Kyoto, did you know that the High School here, the Kyoto Tachibana is among the world's best? They got standing ovations at the Rose Parade in California in December last year, with a terrific performance. Other bands from Sweden, Canada... Here is a preview: Enjoy the longer show:

Hope you are all surrounded by great people, someone special, here is Maia Hirasawa's new hit, The Best Team. I saw this on the huge HD video screen near Takadanobaba station, walking back from work at Consumers Union of Japan late one night a few days ago. More about Maia in Japanese here . Just a year ago, she was recording Boom! for the new Kyushu Shinkansen , a terrific tune. En, två, tre... Lycka till!! Update: The original video for the Boom! Kyushu Shinkansen start for March 12, 2011 has been added, here it is: One comment is, that it was so sad that this was not able to be aired in March back then, due to the Earthquake and Tsunami on March 11, 2011. "I am moved to tears," writes teruterubouzu126, and "I got to like this song a lot, thanks for the translation," says ft2465. "How many times have I watched this, I'm still so moved!" writes 506tks. There is also a 25 minutes long video of the entire trip from Fukuoka City to Kagoshima, throug...

Nothing serious to report here, it is just hot and humid, a bit of rain, and thankfully no power outages (so far). I like how a lot of people are powering down, and it is a huge collective effort here in Japan right now. Trains are running as usual, but yup, it is a little warmer than last year, pre nuclear armageddon in Fukushima. I'm a little concerned that people think we are back to normal. We are not. We are all, together now, heading for a very interesting journey into a lot less energy waste. It may even become a sort of patriotic thing, this power-down 節電 setsuden thing. We all do it, and it makes it less frightening. At my local Seven Eleven, they have replaced all their old lighting, so I asked the part-time staff - and he had no idea. Funny how a big company can pay millions of Yen to replace ceiling fluorescent or neon lights, but cannot educate their staff. Having said that, I frankly have no idea at all how such fluorescent lamps actually work, compared to ordi...

Tokyo Cuban Boys was a legendary band, formed by Tadaaki Misago in 1949. They were hugely popular and influential in introducing Latin music to the mainstream of Japanese music fans. They remained at the pinnacle of the Latin/pop music scene for over 30 years until 1980. Latin America is close to the heart of many Japanese people who have relatives that migrated to Peru, Brazil, and other countries across the Pacific Ocean in the early 20th century. Historically, Japan and Brazil has links going back to at least 1908, according to TokyoTopia . One of my first memories in Tokyo, in the hot summer of 1988, was the Samba Festival in Asakusa, Tokyo . It has been cancelled this summer, because of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. In 2005 Misago's son, Kazuaki Misago, decided continue the Tokyo Cuban Boys band as 'Kazuaki Misago & His Tokyo Cuban Boys'. This top tune is the Souma Bon Uta, a jazzed up version of a local melody from Souma, Fukushima. Eri Chiemi on vocals, an...

Trombonists from Japan and around the world perform for charity and to maintain awareness of the on going efforts to recover from the tragedies of March 11. "A song for Japan" is a beautiful piece, I think you will agree, written by Belgian trombonist Steven Verhelst. Enjoy. Whether you play trombone or not, be sure to visit the website http://www.trombones.jp for more clips, information, free downloadable sheet music, t-shirts, artwork and tools to help you contribute to the cause through music. All profits go to the Japan Red Cross. Special thanks to my high school buddy and fellow trombonist, Larry, who sent me the link.