Brasil 9. Café da manhã -Brazilian Breakfast-

It has been a while after I haven't written about "Series Brazil", actually I still have something I would like to add!

Breakfast = Café da manhã in Brazilian Porutoguese (literaly, coffee in the morning).

There if someone ask you "Café?" and if you say "Sim"(= yes),
they will not serve you just a coffee,
but with bread and all the breakfast menu! (well, I was surprised several times, since I was usually the sleepy and forgot about this fact each time...)

At hostel in Foz do Iguasu, 2007, August.

Also I would say the breakfast in Brazil is quite unique. As similar to other country which carries western custom, there's a coffee, bread cheese, ham and small amount of fresh vegetables,
but the special thing is there is always some sweet cake and fruits are coming together! e.g. watermelon, papiya.

One quote from a groupin facebook "You know you're Brazilian when..."

"Your breakfast consists of milk and coffee, bread with butter and a piece of cake."

Today's song: "Shadow of the day" by Linkin park

A PhotoNews from Japan! A Dog going to Buddism!

Please check it our the article from a Japanese Newspaer in Okinawa "Ryukyu shinpou" .
("Ryukyu" is the old name of Okinawa, "Shin" is New and "pou(or hou)" is reprot)

http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-30559-storytopic-5.html

This is not a CG, it is a real longcoat Chiwawa in a Japanese temple in Okinawa!

Today's song: "Is it you" by Cassie

An synhponic and nostalgic sound, in a street of Venice

When I was walking a street of Venice, suddenly I heard a sound that I have never hear before.

The sound had somehow metalic tune, but it was obviously not made by synthsizer nor computer programed instrument because the sound was so synhponic and it reached my ears so naturally.

The performer was a young man with nice looking clear-cut face, and the instrument was semispherical rounded metal. He hit the metal with both hand with gloves.

It resonate very nostalgic sounds and caught me for a while, and it was very beautiful and amazing sound.



PS. After the performance, many people were asking what kind of instrument it is.
And the answer was this is special instrument is a product of Switzerland and it is produced only 100 pieces per year.

The Traveler IQ Challenge!

The Traveler IQ Challenge by TravelPod

This is a fun game(?), I sometimes try in a free time.
It's a quiz to answer the asked place on map, but this is somehow addicitve ;)
(and also educational to learn world geography, isn't it??)

I know this from facebook application but itseems now also possible to play on Travelpod's website.

But Playing this game on other sites enables you to:

Save your high scores Compete against your friends Create your own challenges Play 1,000's of challenges created by other people

Internet Radio!

As a New Years Gift(?) for myself, I bought a New "Internet Radio"!


Besides playing FM radio stations, this can connect to Wireless Internet connection and play Internet Radio Stations!

It means, without starting a laptop, I can listen to Radio from all over the world (from Japan, Italy, Brazil, Thai land etc, wherever!)

Sounds from the speaker is cool and I liked it!

Today's song: "My cool" by Adam Tensta

The Four Truths of the Storyteller (in Harvard Business Review)

Probably it is more ordinary way to start this with pictures of Italy and Austria, during this vacation,

but I have just read a very exciting article. Thus I decided to start this year with the topic about, "the story to enrapture its listeners."

The article is "The Four Truths of the Storyteller" by Peter Guber ( Dec 2007. Harvard Business Review)

The author,
>Peter Guber is in the business of creating compelling stories: He has headed several entertainment companies--including Sony Pictures, PolyGram, and Columbia Pictures--and produced Rain Man, Batman, and The Color Purple, among many other movies.

and
>For a story to enrapture its listeners, says Guber, it must be true to the teller, embodying his or her deepest values and conveying them with candor; true to the audience, delivering on the promise that it will be worth people's time by acknowledging listeners' needs and involving them in the narrative; true to the moment, appropriately matching the context--whether it's an address to 2,000 customers or a chat with a colleague over drinks--yet flexible enough to allow for improvisation; and true to the mission, conveying the teller's passion for the worthy endeavor that the story illustrates and enlisting support for it.

>In this article, Guber's advice--distilled not only from his years in the entertainment industry but also from an intense discussion over dinner one evening with storytelling experts from various walks of life--is illustrated with numerous examples of effective storytelling from business and elsewhere. Perhaps the most startling is a colorful anecdote about how Guber's own impromptu use of storytelling, while standing on the deck of a ship in Havana harbor, won Fidel Castro's grudging support for a film project.

It's worth to have a look if you are the person, who have to deliver a talk frequently, and also please feel free to ask me about the issue of magazine!

*The text quoted with ">" are descriptions published online by Harvard Business Review

Today's song: "Boa Sorte/Good luck" by Vanessa da Mata e Ben Harper

A Happy New Year 2008!!

This is a year of 2008 and Year of mouse in Japanese custom,

This weblog has nearly last for one year, although sometimes I was too lazy or too busy to update....

I'm writing weblog for a quite personal reason,

So to say, for training my skill of expressing things, but I hope some of topic or article is interesting for you too! So I will try to continue even if the pace get slow....


Anyway, I wish a joyful and delightful 2008 to all the people around me!

PS. the illustration is from Japanese website Paper museum.
(Click for downloading in high resolution, which fits to the postcard size(11cm×7.5cm) at 200dpi, it's a free for a personal use. Also other versions are here)