Plain Talk
TOKYO NOTICE BOARD FEBRUARY 23. 2018Dream by Iona Fab
Dream is one person's aspiration or a fancy way of calling it a goal . The other meaning is just some random thoughts when a person is sleeping . Either way of describing it, it is quite interesting .
In ancient history, dreams has meaning (even up until now, and the easiest way of finding out the meaning is through google!) . Infact , through the interpretation of some gifted prophesiers, Kings, Leaders and the likes most likely to believe in it and this would guide them through their decisions. If propheciers nowadays do exist and are as accurate as the old days, would you believe them too? It is a question that is answerable by yes and/or no. I personally respect to those who believes in it and I won’t neither argue to those who do not believe in it.
On the other side of its definition, this is something that I would like to believe in - "goal and aspiration". This is something that we can create and control . Amidst all odds, challenges and daily struggles, is a goal that we aspire to reach ! Dream may sound too fancy and it shall remain as it is if there is no action towards it. I believe nothing is too impossible for someone who is very committed to his/her goal. It would only be unrealistic if you would just sit there, staring at a blank space and indulge yourself in your dream. There is nothing wrong with that, but nothing would also happen.
As Greg S. Reid wrote : "A Dream written down with a DATE becomes a goal. A goal broken down into STEPS becomes a plan. A plan backed by ACTION makes your dreams come true". I'd like to remind myself this, everytime I'd doze off to dreamland because I have so many dreams that I'd like to play in my head whenever I can, yet no actions has been done at all. There were times that I have tried yet failed and I did not have the strength to do it again or due to some circumstances that were way out of my control, but then I have realized dream does not have an expiration date. There are so many successful people out there who has failed so many times even more than we can imagine and yet they remained to be determined until their dreams came true and they did not stop from there , they continue to try and try to make it better . I want to be that kind of person and inspire others too to do the same . Life is short, make it worth every second . Do not be overcome with the failures and obstacles upon achieving your dream, instead, take control . What is so good about life is that we have the control over it . Just believe in yourself that you can . Yes! You have heard me right ! "You can! If you will!"
So to my fellow dreamers/goal-achievers, let me end this with Walt Disney's famous quote : "If you can Dream it, you can do it!"
夢は、人の願望であり、目標とする大志である。他の意味では、人の睡眠中に沸き上がる一連の概念だ。どちらを語るにしろ、夢は興味深い。
古代、夢は意味をもっていた（現代では意味をグーグルで手軽に見つけられる！）。英知ある予言者、王、指導者達は夢の存在を信じており、意思決定の判断としていた。現代にも予言が存在しており、昔と同じように正確だったら、彼らと同じように信じるだろうか？ イエスかノーで答えられる質問だ。個人的には夢を信じる人をリスペクトするが、私自身は夢を信じるか否かは議論したくない。
夢の他の定義で、私は信じたいものがある。「目標と大志」だ。自分で創造し掌握できるからだ。逆風や困難、日々のストレスに負けず、目標に邁進する！ 夢というと現実離れした感じがするが、それに挑戦しなければそれでまでだ。目標にコミットすれば必ず誰でも達成できると信じる。手をこまねいて、物思いに耽るだけなんて現実的でない。それは悪いことではないが、何の進展もない。
グレッグ・S・リード氏は「「日付をつけて書き留めた夢は目標となる。段階ごとに分類された目標は計画となる。行動に裏打ちされた計画は、夢の実現へと導く。」と著作で述べている。私はこれを心がけたい。私はあまりにもたくさんの夢を持っていて、いつも夢の世界でうたた寝しているが、何ら実現したものはない。やってみたがうまくいかなかったり、再度失敗を乗り越える勇気がなかったり、自分の力ではどうすこともできない状況に陥ったりといろいろあったが、夢には賞味期限がないことはわかっている。世の中には成功した人がたくさんいて、彼らは私たちの想像を超えるような失敗もしている。しかし我慢強く夢を実現しようと最後までやり遂げた人たちだ。私はそうした人になりたいし、他人にもそれを推奨したい。人生は短いから、一瞬でも無駄にせずがんばらなければならない。失敗とか障害を乗り越え、夢を実現させるというか、夢を掌握しよう。人生で何がすばらしいかというと、夢を掌握できることだ。自分を信じてがんばってみよう。私の言う事は正しいでしょ！ あなたが望むなら、夢は叶う！
最後に、夢や目標を持っている皆さんに有名なこの言葉を送りたい。「夢があれば、それを叶えることができる！」
The Randy Reviewer
TOKYO NOTICE BOARD FEBRUARY 23. 2018Kaidan Live Bar Thriller Night by Randy Swank
The Tokyo district of Roppongi is famous for its discos and dance clubs, but there is a place where one can enjoy a different kind of thrill: the Kaidan Live Bar.
Finding the place is easy because across the street one can see a bright yellow ドン・キホーテsign. That’s Don Quijote, a popular discount chain selling everything including lots of kitschy junk.
This bar is a must for fans of Japanese ghost and horror stories. Inside, the place is decorated with skeletons, skulls, chains and cobwebs hanging from faux-grimy walls, and one of the two sofas is already half-occupied by a couple of rather big dolls. One of them wears a junior high school girl uniform, the other one an old-style western dress, and their disfigured faces are anything but cute.
But the real attraction of the Kaidan Live Bar Thriller Night is the storyteller who comes out every hour and scares the bejesus out of the customers with his tall tales of the macabre. The 15-minute performance is included in the 60-minute 3,500 yen all-you-can-drink menu. The tales, of course, are told in Japanese, but even if one doesn’t understand Japanese, the spooky atmosphere (heightened by the screams of terrorized customers) and tacky special effects make up for the language barrier.
Speaking of stories, the bar has a stable of actors who take turn on stage, and today’s storyteller is the most popular of the bunch: Shirotani Ayumu. You can even have a photo taken with him － for a 500-yen fee.
When story time comes, Shirotani take the stage and all the lights are dimmed to enhance the atmosphere. According to him there are two kinds of scary stories: kaidan and horror stories. The latter genre is comprised of tales about people who become the target of some evil spirit without having done anything bad. In kaidan’s case, on the other hand, there is always a reason, a back story to the terrifying events told. Besides sending chills down people’s spine, these stories are often very sad as we learn that the ghosts who haunt the living were the victims of some abuse in the first place.
All in all it makes for a chillingly entertaining night out.
Kaidan Live Bar Thriller Night
B1F 5-5-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku
Tel. 03-5411-2770
Open 19:00-5:00 (Mon-Sat), 19:00-23:00 (Sun)
http://thriller-tokyo.com
What’s App With You?
TOKYO NOTICE BOARD FEBRUARY 23. 2018PhotoJus Bokeh:
Do you want to add romance, fantasy and a gorgeous feel to your photos? Bokeh is originally pronounced in Japanese meaning "blurred effect" produced in an out of focus image from a lens. Different shapes of bokeh can be produced from lens aberrations and aperture shape and the bokeh effects can show depth of field in a photo. They have more than 5 million users, so they know what users want. There’s no need for an DSLR camera to create bokeh effects now. You can have bokeh photos instantly with this app. It transforms your photos into various nice effects by adding the bokeh effect! All effects are designed together by professional photographers and real artists to provide you with the most amazing effect for your photos.
Planett:
Planett is a simple planner/todo-list app! Its Week-at-a-glance interface makes it easier for you to keep track of your plans. The top bar shows all your plans in that week with abbreviated tags. Too lazy to create a tag for each plan? No worries! This app will automatically create tags for you! Of course, you could also customize it yourself. No confusing options and complicated instructions with too many unnecessary options. Also, decorate your daily list by posting a picture of the day. Make your lists extra special by uploading a memorable photo each day!
Tokyo Voice Column
TOKYO NOTICE BOARD FEBRUARY 23. 2018Don't Panic it's only SNOW by Peter W Empson
For the last few days the news channels have been forecasting a heavy fall of snow here in the Kanto Region, so you think people would be prepared for the impending “disaster”, we all know that people in Kanto and Kansai don’t do snow, so the images on the TV tonight once again show just how unprepared we are, accidents and road closures, trains are delayed or cancelled, flights cancelled, commuters are stuck in stations, as usual total chaos, it happens every year when there is heavy snow, WHY !.
For a whole hour on the lunchtime news today they covered the SNOW, they went on and on about a subject which would only get 5 minutes in the UK, but there was no public announcements about staying at home, don’t use your car, travel only if you need too, which is common practice in my own country.
Companies do not plan, everybody is told to come to work as usual, you are not allowed to use your own judgment, my own company only closed the office at 2 o’clock this afternoon when it was too late, people do not have the sense to leave their cars at home, thinking everything will be ok.
This is one of the frustrations and problems when living in Japan, they do not like the unusual, they have a plan and regardless the plan will be stuck too come what may and do not do believe in a plan B.
Why the Japanese do not do like to plan for the unusual is a mystery to me, they are such an organized people, this maybe the answer, they are too organized and reliant on being told what to do and when to do it which starts from childhood, will they change NO !, can they change NO !. this is why the Japanese are such a unique and sometime unfathomable people.
ここ数日、テレビの天気予報番組では、関東地方に大雪が降ると伝えていた。ということはみんな迫り来る「大惨事」に万全の備えで臨むのだろうか。関東や関西では雪は降らないため、今夜のテレビ番組では、雪に対してどんなになす術がないかについての映像を流していた。事故、通行止めとなった道路、電車は遅れたり、運転が止まったり、飛行機も運行が停止され、乗客が駅で立ち往生するといった光景だ。こうした混乱した状況は、大雪が降ると毎年起きる光景だ。なぜ！
今日の昼のニュース番組は、ずっと大雪の話題で持ち切りだった。イギリスでは５分で終わる話題をひっきりなしに流していた。僕の国では、慣例となっている家から出るな、車に乗るな、できるだけ外出は控えよといった告知はなかった。
会社はあらかじめ対処することなく、社員は通常どおり出勤する。自分の判断では行動できない。僕の会社では午後２時に帰宅するよう言われた。これじゃあ遅すぎる。大丈夫だと思って車に乗ってきているのに。
日本で生活していて困ったり、フラストレーションがたまる事だ。日本人は普段通りでない状況を好まず、どんな事が起ころうときっちりと立てた計画計画どおりに物事を遂行し、プランB は考えない。
なぜ日本人は緊急時の計画をもたないのか僕には不思議だった。日本人は物事をきちんとする人々だからだ。おそらくあまりにもきちんとしすぎていて、子供の頃から言われる事を信頼するあまりに、ノーと言って変化を求める事ができないのだろう。これこそ、他の国民と異なり、時々理解できない日本人の奥深さだ。
Strange but True
TOKYO NOTICE BOARD FEBRUARY 23. 2018To wet or not to wet...
Do you wet your toothbrush before cleaning your teeth? One woman started a big debate after posting the query on Twitter. Some prefer a dry brush, applying the toothpaste and going for it. Others put the toothpaste on first and add water later. Others like to get the toothbrush wet first. People have different techniques. Some seem weird, others not so much. But is there a correct way? Does any of this matter? Dr Mitali Hariawala, dental community manager at toothbrush company Quip, said there is a correct way. "First rinse your toothbrush to clean and "soften" the bristles to prevent them from being too abrasive on your teeth and gums," she revealed. "In addition, the wetness allows the toothpaste to stick easily to the bristles and therefore not fall off on application. However, apparently, immediately rinsing your mouth out after brushing is counterproductive, as it gives the solution no time to do its business. To allow anti-cavity toothpaste to take full effect, it's best to leave it on your teeth for a few minutes after － better yet, follow up with some mouthwash.
The importance of brushing teeth
Your mom, dentist, and maybe even your babysitter all probably forced (encouraged!) you to brush your teeth twice daily. And it's with good reason, too: Regularly brushing helps prevent cavities and brightens smiles, says cosmetic dentist. Because if you didn't devote at least five minutes (again, twice a day) to scrubbing your chompers clean, you could end up with a mouth full of cracked, decayed teeth. Kinda like this guy's. Jay, a 21-year-old from the U.K., was featured in a recent episode of Embarrassing Bodies due to his painful-looking smile, which was the result of abstaining from oral hygiene for the majority of his life. Unfortunately, neglecting his toothbrush ultimately led to his teeth becoming "caked in tartar, hardened food debris, and bacteria that's built up over 20 years of not brushing his teeth." It also hurt his confidence and put a damper on his dreams of becoming a physiotherapist. This is a great example of why it's so important to regularly care for your teeth. Brush your teeth twice daily (at least) and don't let things get out of control. Not everything is reversible.
