Friday, March 11, 2016

Wray Performs Beethoven at Suntory Hall (Japan's version of Carnegie Hall) March 6, 2016


My son won second place in the All-Japan piano finals. In the past, he has placed first and third. I thought he'd be disappointed but he was really happy and told me, "Now, I've placed first, second and third!"

I guess it's kind of like collecting sports cards. Gotta have them all, right?

Anyway, we are all very proud of him.

I made this video on the fly.

Beethoven Sonate No.8 OP.13 ’Pathétique’ 1st mov. Wray Blake Rogers 12yrs old
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_tEy64Y2oI


Thursday, March 10, 2016

Almost Cherry Blossom Time in Tokyo

“What a strange thing! to be alive beneath cherry blossoms.” ― Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828)

The plum blossoms are out...

The cherries will soon be here....

Time to enjoy the spring of another year.

Another year of renewal and hope.

(Photo taken on an iPhone 6 by me!)

“When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest. The only thing that could spoil a day was people and if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself.” ― Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast



“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." ― Anne Bradstreet, The Works of Anne Bradstreet


“If people did not love one another, I really don't see what use there would be in having any spring.” ― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables


"Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul." - Henry Ward Beecher 



“I enjoy the spring more than the autumn now. One does, I think, as one gets older.” ― Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room


“Despite the forecast, live like it's spring.” ― Lilly Pulitzer


“I suppose the best kind of spring morning is the best weather God has to offer.” ― Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle

(If you wish to use these photos on your blog or in your presentation - or any photos anywhere on this blog, feel free to do so and use freely as you wish. It's free. Everything is free! Use as you wish! All photos taken on iPhones - Mike)


Be happy. Be well.

Saturday, February 6, 2016

The Maker of "The Cove" Gets Deported!



This is a conversation showing how immature and illogical people can be. A "friend" of mine was complaining that the producer and host of "The Cove" (Ric O’Barry) was deported from Japan. Here is the conversation:
ME: "Misha (not real name), Japan is fucked up. But I have a question for you, as I once asked O'Barry (the man who was deported) to which he refused to answer: "If the real purpose of "the Cove" was to alert and enlighten people as you say (the Japanese especially) and stop the Dolphin slaughter - instead of making money - then why don't you make the video for free available on Youtube?" He has refused to answer.
I don't understand. If I were sincere, then I would make the movie for free available on Youtube.... And I HAVE made many productions for free and they are freely available on Youtube. This seems like hypocrisy to me.
Oh, and the idea that giving things away for free doesn't make money is disproven by Google.... Which gives away everything for free....
I am ambivalent about the dolphin kills, but think these people (like O’Barry) are opportunists and full of shit; they are purely profit motivated.
PS: Japan, Norway and Iceland still kill 1000s of these creatures a year. The Cove has done nothing to stop it. If the supposed purpose was to "Inform the Japanese people so that they rise up and stop it" (O'Barry's words, not mine) then he'd make the film public domain and available to everyone for free... But he doesn't.... Why?... Everything this guy does is all a publicity stunt to make money. The day they make the video free to everyone (after all the survival of the entire world is at stake, right?) I will recant and apologize... That won't be within the next 25 years. He is a profit-minded movie producer cashing in on emotions to pad his wallet."
MISHA: "I suppose documentaries like "The Cove" are expensive to make. And free speech applies to all.
ME: "That's not my point at all. He said, "I made the film so that Japanese people rise up and stop the slaughter" But it only shows in 3 theaters in the entire country????Get real.
130,000,000 people? 3 theaters...Bullshit."
MISHA: "You're being rude."
ME: "No. I am being factual. You are being tricked by a profit motive by unscrupulous people.
Pandora's Promise is free. Anti-nuclear movie. It costs LOTS more than the Cove did: https://www.youtube.com/user/PandorasPromiseMovie
Pandora's Promise
See it in theaters June 2013! Like on Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/PandorasPromise Follow on Twitter athttps://twitter.com/PandorasPromise Impact Pa...
youtube.com
Anti-nuclear...Don't trust these fricking Hollywood people for 1 second.
MISHA: "Settle it with O'Barry, my opinion is that he shouldn't have been deported, because it's against the principle of free speech."
ME: "This has nothing to do with free speech, does it? The law is usually 95% clear. He lied on his customs and immigration documents and was never allowed entry into Japan in the first place.
"US animal rights activist Ric O'Barry, detained for nearly three weeks after being denied entry to Japan, has been deported from the country, his supporters said Friday."
MISHA: "Yes, I read it. You're being patronizing."
ME: "No. He was here for work before. He lied and said he was a 'tourist.' He said he was on a "Tourist visa" that's a lie. Do you think these drones at immigration have a clue about his movie or anything? Nope. All they know is that he came here to work on a tourist visa. He's done. Your nation (and the USA) would do the exact same thing.
MISHA: "It's not true, you know it, I know it."
ME: "That's BULLSHIT. I work in the news media, remember? Prove your argument with links or facts please. The law is 95% of the time pretty straightforward...."
MISHA: "I don't have time for this." (Me: You mean you don't have time to think clearly?)
ME: "I have been following this story closely for a long time,"
MISHA: "This was a warning." (????)
ME: "And, if the point was to "Wake up the Japanese people" (like he claimed himself?) am I wrong? Should the film be free? OF COURSE IT SHOULD."
This is just one of many promotional stunts... to make money..... O'Barry is no better or worse than those folks in the government.
At least the idiots in the government are just following orders.... O-what-the fuck is trying to sell a movie. Figure it out. I know what I am talking about."
MISHA: "You're rude and massively off-topic. Please stop."
ME: "Misha, if you can't argue rationally, then that's fine. I do know what I am talking about."
MISHA: "You're being very emotional, I'm calm."
ME: "I have insulted no one except the hypocrite. Hopefully you will think and begin to ask questions about what you believe. He could release that movie NOW for worldwide viewing in 5 minutes.... But he doesn't.... Why? Is it because money is more important than saving dolphins?
This is a serious question I am asking you. I am an American and I am from Southern California (Hollywood), people - like this guy - are everywhere. They are capitalizing on your emotions to make money."
....At this point Misha blocks me. WAKE THE HELL UP!!!!

PS: I leave you with this choice quote from the article linked to at the top: "O'Barry first found fame in the 1960s for catching and training five dolphins for the well-known television series "Flipper", but he has recently fought against keeping the mammals in captivity."..... Ha! Don't do what I do. Do what I say! Hypocrite!!!!

See my original article on this subject here: 
Marketing Japan: Japan Bans the Cove and Other Atrocities… (universal-vision.jp/wp/?p=536)

Friday, February 5, 2016

VOTE 2016! Ted Cruz vs. Grandpa Munster!


VOTE 2016! Hey! Am I the only one that thinks that this Ted Cruz guy looks like Grandpa Munster? (Vote in the comments section!)





Need more proof?





Friday, January 22, 2016

Girls Mountain Climbing in Mini-Skirts a New Trend in Japan!

Wow! One thing I really like about Japan is that women still dress like women. I mean, on any given day, just about all the girls riding the trains are wearing dresses and are dressed up to kill.


Now Bloomberg reports that these sexy fashions are now trends for mountain climbing too as Japanese girls are mountain climbing in mini-skirts?



Forget the ice ax and $500 climbing boots. The mode du jour for today’s female mountain hikers in Japan is a miniskirt and leggings.

Not in the winter!

The North Face, a maker of Gore-Tex waterproof jackets, andAlpine Tour Service Co. are targeting “yama girls,” or mountain girls, the nickname for the growing number of women who are taking to the hills of Japan wearing short pants or fleece skirts with leggings and designer trekking boots.
“I want to wear something cute like a skirt,” said Machiko Miyauchi, 25, who made her first ascent of Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest peak, earlier this year after buying new equipment and shoes. “Climbing is healing. You can breathe fresh, clean air
Who would have guessed that mountain climbing would be a place to pick up girls? The article continues:
Japan’s fashion scene has a record of establishing cult trends that sweep the industry, typically for a few years, such as the “ganguro” look that mixed deep fake tans with white lipstick, brightly colored clothes and orange-to-blond hair. Tokyo ranked 14th this year in Global Language Monitor’s annual list of world fashion capitals, trailing Hong Kong and Shanghai in Asia.
The nation’s top climbing spot is the 3,776 meters-high (12,388 feet) Mount Fuji, within sight of Tokyo, where the number of trekkers rose 9.9 percent to 320,975 in July and August, according to a report by the Environment Ministry. About 12.3 million people hiked Japan’s mountains last year, compared with 590,000 in 2008, according to a 2010 Japan Productivity Center White Paper on Leisure, published in July.
“Mount Fuji seems to be a catalyst for many people,” said Machiko Ito, who plans trekking tours at Yama-kei Publishers Co. “It’s like going to Tokyo Disneyland -- people get this feeling that everyone else is going, so they will too.”
Alpine Tour and Yama-kei offered a women-only tour to Fuji for 28,000 yen ($347) in July, and plan two more all-female tours to other locations in December.
“Single women are spending their spare time on something fashionable and good for their health, as they can’t do it once they get married,” said Toshihiro Nagahama, chief economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute in Tokyo. “Mountaineering is luring in female fans.”

Mountaineering is luring in females fans!? Really? There's no way my wife would climb a mountain like that. She is a typical Tokyo girl of her generation: that means boutiques and shopping centers are the extent of her recreational activities.


Wow! Maybe there more to going outdoors and just nature views too? Wow! Mountain climbing with girls in mini-skirts? Forgive me but this is definitely a case of "Ladies first!"


Read more at Bloomberg

Monday, January 11, 2016

David Bowie, I Love You!


Goodbye, David Bowie....

You were the very first that made me crazy about one rock star and not just one song... 

You were the first one that I took drugs with and got high listening to... 

You were the one that made me hate my dark and wavy hair: I wanted to have straight blonde hair so I could make it orange... 




Because of you, I stayed indoors and never got a suntan in my entire life; that is why at nearly 60 today, I have no wrinkles. 

You were also the one who showed me that it was OK not to be the most popular boy in school and to be different and to be myself. 


David Bowie, I love you. 

You changed my life. 

I will never forget.

........For many years, David Bowie made me laugh and scream and sing and dream... Yesterday, for the first time in a long time, he made me remember how to cry again.

------------------


(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v342TST9tFw)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZKcl4-tcuo)


Friday, January 1, 2016

A Japanese Zen Buddhist New Year's Prayer and a Drink of Sake




In Japan, it is customary for family and friends to get-together on New Year's morning and have sake and a toast along with some words - a sort of prayer - for the New Year.

This year, I sat and had a cup of sake and the words of the speaker - a priest who survived World War II - really shook me in their solemnness, stark realism and simplicity. He said,

"This next year may see the world full of war and no one knows what is going to happen to the economy. We may be seeing the start of the next great war and the next great depression.

No one knows if they will even be alive tomorrow."

He took a breath of exasperation - as if to suggest, "I've seen this all before" - and then he added,

The best one can do is to always try their best and to protect their health and survive it."

We all held our glasses high in the air and said, "Kanpai!" (cheers) and drank our sake.

I knew I was hearing the words of a very wise and experienced man.

Do your best and also protect your health in 2016. Happy New Year! Be well.

Top 3 New Video Countdown for May 6, 2023! Floppy Pinkies, Jett Sett, Tetsuko!

   Top 3 New Video Countdown for May 6, 2023!!  Please Follow me at:  https://www.facebook.com/MikeRogersShow Check out my Youtube Channel: ...