Picture of the day

I like this object.

Planet eBook

I found that you can download entire books from this web site.  I am training myself to read everything on display to save papers.  Once you get used to reading everything on display, it will be easy.  Check it out.

http://www.planetebook.com/free-ebooks.asp

Picture of the day

The face I saw today.

I don't like this editor.

Blogger updated it's editor to compose blogs.  I don't like this update at all.  I cannot even figure out the way to make an image as a link.  If you know how to do so, please let me know.

5-inch Japanese Burger

A friend of mine send me a link to this hilarious picture. Japanese Burger King offers a 5-inch whopper to celebrate the release of Windows 7.

Follow me on Twitter!

I am a big fan of Twitter.  If you also have a twitter account, please follow me on Twitter.

http://twitter.com/TakuyaSakaguchi

Efficient stretch for runners

To build competent muscles for running, stretching exercises are important.  I found this video is very informative to learn how to stretch efficiently.   Check it out.

Blogging again

Time is the most important resource you ever have.  Thus, I have to be very careful not to waste my precious time.  I have been thinking wether it is worth for me to invest my time in writing this blog.  I don't have the answer for that question but I decide to start write this blog again.

Japanese Melancholy

Ryu Murakami, my favorite Japanese writer, wrote an article on New York Times about recent Japanese election.

Japan Comes of Age (NY Times):

Deep down, we all know this. That’s why the gloomy expressions on the faces of Japanese on the street haven’t changed. But this does not mean we are on the verge of decline or decay. We’re merely experiencing the melancholythat any child goes through as adulthood approaches.

When Barack Obama won, I was very excited. I was enthusiastic that something very new will begin and things will get better. When the Japanese Democratic Party won last week, I was depressed, even though I voted for the party. This article explains clearly why I felt sad, which I couldn't explain well.

Vegan - 21 months -

I have been a vegan for almost 2 years. I am now very comfortable with eating vegan food every single day. Only difficulty still remains is how to manage social situation (Sometimes, I cannot hang out with others to explore new restaurants). Veganism definitely made my social life more difficult.

I visited Japan last spring, and it was also very difficult experience. You can have super few vegan option in Japan. And non-vegan Japanese cuisine is so yummy, seducing you. I felt bit miserable there because it was very hard to survive in my home country.... It was like loosing my home. You will lose many things as you live, home will be one of those.

I will definitely remain to be vegan at any expense, since my body knows it is the right decision. You cannot get everything, so you anyway have to make a choice. Veganism is the choice I made.

Stress and weight

When I am under strong stress, my body weight appears to surge. I found tight correlation between my stress level and body weight. When I am stressed out, I cannot run well. This is the major reason why the stress level affects my weight. I need to learn stress management more, because the skill seems to be important to survive. I know things will be much tougher if I continue this job.

1Q84

Haruki Murakami is going to publish his new novel, called "1Q84", on May 29th. I am very lucky that I can read Japanese, so that I will be able to read the 1Q84 much earlier than most of you. The title "1Q84" comes after George Orwell's "1984", I believe. Pronunciation of "Q" is similar to that of "9" in Japanese.


You can find the latest information at Shinchosha web site.

Traveling

I have been traveling a lot these days. I actually do not remember how many cities I visited last month (Detroit, Chicago, New York, Tokyo, Fargo, LA, and more). I now really do not have time to write this blog. But my traveling days will be over in two months, I hope. Once I settle down, I will write this blog again more frequently.

Always on the side of the egg

Haruki Murakami was awarded the Jerusalem Prize. I found the manuscript of his speech for the award. This speech was very sound and courageous. You can read the entire manuscript at this link. I really admire him that he spoke this sensitive issue about the Gaza district in front of Israeli. He was by himself and unarmed there.

haaretz.com: (by Haruki Murakami)

"Between a high, solid wall and an egg that breaks against it, I will always stand on the side of the egg."

Yes, no matter how right the wall may be and how wrong the egg, I will stand with the egg. Someone else will have to decide what is right and what is wrong; perhaps time or history will decide. If there were a novelist who, for whatever reason, wrote works standing with the wall, of what value would such works be?

This is not all, though. It carries a deeper meaning. Think of it this way. Each of us is, more or less, an egg. Each of us is a unique, irreplaceable soul enclosed in a fragile shell. This is true of me, and it is true of each of you. And each of us, to a greater or lesser degree, is confronting a high, solid wall. The wall has a name: It is The System. The System is supposed to protect us, but sometimes it takes on a life of its own, and then it begins to kill us and cause us to kill others - coldly, efficiently, systematically.

I start running again.

I start running again. I really surprised that I cannot run at all after one month of break. I cannot even finish 3 miles. My body changes quite rapidly adapting to an easy environment. Muscle is hard to acquire, but easy to loose. Tough world, it is.

This year, I want to run two full marathons. One in San Francisco in July, and the other one is in New York in November. This is my training plan for these two marathons. The running has become a very important part of my life.

February 70 miles
March 100 miles
April 120 miles
May 150 miles
June 100 miles
July 70 miles plus one full marathon
August 120 miles
September 150 miles
October 100 miles
November 70 miles plus one full marathon

A happy new year.

A happy new year, everyone. I have been extremely busy last year, so I did not have a chance to meet many of you. But please remember that I am wishing all of you to have a good year.

-Takuya