28 June, 2005

Real bionic man from Chicago

Is this true? You-king gave me this article.

» CBS 2 Chicago WBBM-TV | Chicago Doctors Create Real Bionic Man
22 June 2005
By Mary Ann Childers

Chicago doctors have created a real bionic man, which must be a major breakthrough changing the lives of patients with stroke, spinal cord injury, and so on.

With 20 years of research, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago have discovered a way to enable patients move an artificial arm as if it were a real limb, simply by thinking about making it move.

18 April, 2005

Adobe + Macromedia

» BBC News | Adobe to buy $3.4bn Macromedia
Adobe Systems Inc., company of Acrobat and Photoshop, agreed to acquire Macromedia Inc., a rival company specialising in web design softwares, for about $3.4 billion.

Customers are calling for integrated software solutions that enable them to create, manage and deliver... compelling content.

said Bruce Chizen, chief executive of Adobe, who is to remain in power.

I wasn't ready for this surprising news. And so are other web people, I guess.

So is this just surprising news? Good for us or bad for us? What will happen after Photoshop meets Dreamweaver?

» Adobe | Adobe to acquire Macromedia

» Adobe
» Macromedia

2 March, 2005

Cultural Export - Kabuki in NY and Sushi in London

Today, I happened to see him on TV - Kankuro Nakamura. He is a famous Kabuki actor in Japan. The Heisei Nakamura-za company's performance, "The Summer Festival: A Mirror of Osaka" ("Natsumatsuri Naniwa Kagami"), which took place last summer at the Lincoln Center in New York, was a spectacular success.

The programme I saw today was about the backstage of the performance. Maybe, the reason why the last summer's performance is being shown now on Japanese TV is because of the release of the DVD of the performance.

I saw the performance itself on TV at the beginning of this year, in fact. I'm not an expert of Kabuki or particularly a big fun, either. But this was fun to see even for Kabuki beginners like me.

The story was about Danshichi Kurobei, performed by Kankuro, who murdered his uncle and was being chased during the play. The knockabout drama starts with a scuffle between Kurobei and chasers who appeared from audience seats. I'm not going to write in detail.

Whenever this kind of "cultural export" is spotlighted, I wonder to what extent it is exact compared with what we know in Japan and how it is perceived by foreigners. In this case, the performer, Kankuro Nakamura, is a real Kabuki actor (although his performance and style are said to be, kind of, avant-garde among Japanese critics). So he is not a Chinese alternative like Hollywood. The set is also the same as ones in Japan. Moreover, it seemed successful in being acclaimed from those who came to see it, including New Yorkers and critics. The New York Times wrote;

The Heisei Nakamura-za company's "Summer Festival: A Mirror of Osaka" ("Natsumatsuri Naniwa Kagami") turns out to provide thrills that "Spider-Man 2" can't deliver.

That's great. But I'm not sure, if I'm asked how many New Yorkers can understand the story. However, perhaps I can answer "many of them", because although the performance was in Japanese, a Japanese-English translator earphone was supplied and also the play was filled with dynamic scenes. Therefore, it could be relatively easy to understand.

It's also an important factor that New Yorkers' awareness of Japanese culture was ripe for receiving the Kabuki performance. My personal opinion; New York's understandings of Japanese culture are quite deep. Let's take up Japanese food as an example. It's popular nowadays in many places around the world. For example, in London, where also many Japanese reside, we can find many Japanese restaurants and sushi bars. But what the hell are they? I have an experience of sushi rolls, sold at Marks&Spencer in Covent Garden. Looks grotesque, tastes lamentable and makes me feel regret having lost few pounds for cross-cultural experience (you may say this was because of Britain, and I agree with you. But let's talk about it later). But I could meet many tasteful sushi rolls in New York (although I never admit California rolls and "Japanese dishes" served at "Japanese restaurants" owned by Chinese or Koreans or other Asians). I know it's nonsense to judge the awareness of Japanese culture by sushi rolls. But it can be part of the matter.

He's now busy at dealing with his son who misbehaved after drinking heavily at the celebration of Kankuro's succession to his predecessor's name... But I think Kankuro's attempt is enough great to make up his son's misbehaviour.

I decided to know more about this Japanese beautiful tradition, Kabuki. I hope Japanese cultures overseas will gain more authentic and true shapes, not like grotesque sushi rolls.

» The New York Times | Theater Review | The Stuff of Nightmares in a Kabuki Carnival Maze
20 July 2004
By Ben Brantley

24 February, 2005

He's not in an olympic state of mind - NY's bid for 2012

Like I did in London, I saw many campaign advertisements of the bid for the 2012 Olympics in New York. One of the ads says "we're in an olympic state of mind". Among some of New Yorkers, however, there is a sentiment against the Olympics, which brings unfavorable problems to their daily life. Robert Lipsyte, a former columnist for the New York Times, writes in 21 February's USA Today;

My city, New York, is vying for the 2012 Games, and the IOC is here to sniff around. My message to them: Bestow the 'honor' of gridlock, additional noise and a hefty price tag on Paris or London instead.

Questions are - who wants the Olympics in New York?

It would be helpful to know exactly who is going to profit and who is going to lose if the 2012 Games are awarded to New York, should the IOC disregard my protest. New York's proposed budget for the Games, not including the privately financed Olympic Village and a $1.6 billion stadium that will also house the NFL's Jets, is $3.7 billion.

Does that make sense when Mayor Bloomberg announced a $3 billion budget gap for 2005? To help close that gap, he ordered cuts that will affect police and fire protection and the public schools.
Meanwhile, there will be fat contracts to create the Olympic venues and service them. Will it be worth Halliburton's while to pull out of Baghdad and come to New York?

He also mentions the recent event in the Central Park and the redevelopment of the World Trade Centre.

Even for plans less masterful than war. This is why my neighborhood in Manhattan is often cluttered with TV crews. It is why Central Park, one of the city's treasures, has been draped with 23 miles of orange-colored fabric panels by an artist named Christo. It is why the few public spaces left with light and air are in continual danger of being crowded by some massive chunk of stone or metal dubbed Art. It is why the battle over Ground Zero has been about architectural visions vs. development interests rather than anything resembling the people's choice.

Which brings us to the ultimate grotesque extension of this kind of master-planner arrogance: the war in Iraq. The planners didn't ask the Iraqis if they wanted to be invaded, and they didn't ask the Americans who paid for it in money and blood. Talk about gridlock, noisy construction, strained facilities and diverted resources.

» USA Today | Olympic unwelcome mat
21 February 2005
By Robert Lipsyte

» NYC 2012

16 January, 2005

Jesus Christ

Shall I say "Jesus Christ" after having read this article, sir?

» The New York Times | Detainees Describe Abuses by Guard in Iraq Prison
12 January 2005
By Kate Zernike