2002.07.03

I am in the process of simplifying the UI for this blog again so please bear with me. Let me know if you like the new design. 12:10:14 AM     comment []

2002.06.29

Actually tried to go buy World Cup final tickets this morning but we got there too late! People were lining up since last night... guess we will watch the game at home. No big deal. There were three types of tickets on sale today: $300, $500, and $750. Rumor has it the $300 were sold out before we could get to the ticket window.  I don't think I would have wanted to pay more than $300 for a ticket though, as much as I love football... 1:57:32 AM     comment []

2002.06.28

It's been raining every day lately and the temperatures have been really cool for late June.  For instance, the low temp. today is 16C. So what is this about global warming?  Certainly not in Japan! 10:34:41 PM     comment []

2002.05.27

Saw Gaijin, a film directed by a Japanese Brazilian woman named Tizuka Yamasaki.  My qualms: The director rushed the ending: how did the main character (Chitoe) become well-to-do after escaping from the coffee plantation was not well explained. Most of the spoken scenes follow one and another very tightly but I would prefer some wordless scenes to convey to viewers the atmosphere of the coffee plantation. Show a scene overlooking the whole plantation from a hill for example. Show the surroundings.  I think they could use a little bit more wide-angle scenes. Furthermore, it was difficult for me to grasp the layout of the plantation; the locations of the boss' house in relation to the worker's houses as well as the plantation itself was not really clear and established so that the viewer can relate to right away.  Usually films with fixed, repetitive locations like this one could use some establishment shots to transport the viewer into the physical space of the film. Despite the problems I had with it, I thought the film provided a fairly accurate historical account of the hardship that Japanese had suffered when they immgrated abroad to Brasil during the early 20th century. 1:16:30 AM     comment []

2002.05.07

Rain, rain, rain. Golden Week ended but I didn't figure out how to reduce junk in my apartment. Not all time was lost, because I discovered one more good version of Jobim's How Insensitive from an unexpected musician. Since my sleep schedule was screwed up by the hoildays, I will try to go back to a sleep-early-rise-early pattern again.  Wish me luck and good night... 7:19:04 PM     comment []

2002.05.06

A day at Yoyogi Park... anything goes. Images here. 11:04:11 PM     comment []

2002.04.16

Spent most of Sunday in Bunkyo district of Tokyo.  It's one of the most education-minded districts in Japan. Why? An informal count from a district map reveals about 15 universities and colleges in an area of just 11.31 sq. km. (= 4.34 sq. miles). Many of the nation's most prestigious universities are here: Tokyo University, and Ochanomizu Women's University, just to name a few. I even passed by a park named "Forest of Education Park". And I met my friend Mari - an Ochanomizu graduate in education - who loves living in Bunkyo-ku. Her reason: she can meet people like her who want to reform education in Japan. 1:11:47 AM     comment []

© Copyright 2002 Ivan Chung. Last update: 2002/07/03; 0:10:28.

The meaning of burabura:
[Japanese, verb]
1. To wander
2. To stroll aimlessly, at a leisurely pace
3. To lead an idle life
4. To sway