Why do people have to work? (sigh)
Post Structure
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Input
Learning: books/novels/good articles, videos/podcasts, any format, anything that feels rewarding after finishing
Anime: new shows / old shows, TV season / movies, notes on what I watched
Others: movies, TV series, etc., put here -
Random Thoughts
Maybe I will write down whatever I’m thinking -
Output
Maybe a blog, but I’m not good enough, so maybe I have no output for a whole month (lol) -
Travel
If I went somewhere, I’ll jot it down. If not, then whatever -
Misc
Small things that don’t fit in the categories above
Input
Learning
Eloquent JavaScript
Still procrastinating, but I did go back and reread some parts I’d already covered, especially the regex section.
When I first read it, everything was vague and I didn’t really understand much. Recently, though, work suddenly created a very real need to use regular expressions, which forced me to go back and confront the part I had failed to understand before. Reality truly is an efficient teacher.
はみだしの人類学 ともに生きる方法
A small book of around 100 pages. I read half last year, and in the past month or so I finally finished the rest.
Some viewpoints in the book are interesting. I originally wanted to write a note post, but after reading it seems there isn’t that much.
So I won’t open a new page. I’ll just put it here.
もし世界中に日本人しかいなくなったら、「日本人」というカテゴリー（＝容れ物）に意味はなくなります。「日本人」は、「日本人ではない人たち」との関係においてはじめて「日本人」でいられるのです。
生殖関係や血縁をもとに家族 である というよりも、空間を共有して暮らし、ともに行為を重ねることで、家族 になる。
その出会いの蓄積は、その人だけに固有なものです。だれ一人として、あなたと同じ人と同じように出会っている人はいません。「わたし」の固有性は、そうした他者との出会いの固有性のうえに成り立っている。
でもだからこそ、いまの「わたし」が不満な人は、それを悲観する必要もない。みんな気づかないうちにかつての「わたし」を捨て、こっそり他者からあらたな「わたし」を獲得しているのですから。他者との「つながり」によって「わたし」の輪郭がつくりだされ、同時にその輪郭から「はみだす」動きが変化へと導いていく。だとしたら、どんな他者と出会うかが重要な鍵になる。
「宗教」や「国境」という線引きだけで私たちは「分断」されているわけではない。むしろ、その境界がひとつしかないとする前提こそが、深い「分断」があるかのようなイメージをつくりだしている。
そんなとき、異なる複数の境界線を引くことが既存の境界を乗り越えるために必要な想像力になります。だから「異文化理解」を考えたいのなら、ほんとうに「異文化」なのかどうか、どんな意味で「異文化」とされてきたのか、そこで引かれている境界線とそれに沿って見いだされている差異そのものを疑うところからはじめないといけない。
私が駅前でマイクをもって「成員カテゴリー集合という理論は……」などと話をしても、それを熱心に聞いてノートをとる人はいないでしょう。たとえ私の大学の学生であっても、知らないふりをして通り過ぎていくはずです。
つまり、「わたし」はかならずしもつねに「先生」であるわけではないし、「学生」もつねに「学生」としてふるまっているわけではない。あくまでも特定の状況において「わたし」も「かれら」も｛教員、学生｝としてふるまっているにすぎない。状況が変われば、「わたし」が何者と認識されるか、何者として行為を投げかけられるかが変わるのです。ネット社会になり、ますます「わたし」や「かれら」という存在を文脈に関係なく固定的にとらえる傾向が強まっているように思えます。そんな時代に、やわらかな「わたし」をとりもどすには、どうしたらいいのでしょうか。
共感も共鳴も、どちらも生きていくために必要なつながり方です。本書が考えてきた二つの「つながり」、そしてそこで生じる「はみだす」という動き。それらについて考えることは、私たちがいかにして差異にあふれた世界をともに生きていけばよいのか、その方法を身につける思考のトレーニングなのです。
とはいえ、私たちは日々、時間に追われ、与えられた仕事や予定をこなすことで精一杯です。ひとつの仕事を片付けたら、また別の仕事にとりかかる。
ほんとうにささいなことですが、インゴルドの言葉を読むと、もしかしたら限られた人生、娘を無事に幼稚園のバスに乗せることより、毎日、蜘蛛の様子を二人で観察して驚きや発見に満ちた瞬間を味わうことのほうが大切かもしれない、と思えてきます（バスに乗り遅れると、あとがたいへんなのですが……）。
たぶん私たちの日常には、そんなふだんは気づかないところに「生きる喜び」が潜んでいる。なのに、たいていは気づかずに通り過ぎてしまう。でもそのささいな喜びを人生からすべて取り去ったら、あとに何が残るのか。そう考えさせられます。
私たちは小さいときから好きなことを我慢してがんばりなさい、そうすればよりよい人生が送れる。そう言われ続けて大きくなりました。でも目標を達成したらそこで人生が終わるわけではない。目標の達成は通過点でしかありません。またそこから歩み続けなければならない。
そして、それは変化がいっそう激しくなるこれからの時代にこそ必要とされるのだと思います。
つまづきやすい日本語
After finishing the previous one, I picked another that looked interesting. Still the same NHK small-book series, a bit over 100 pages.
The author works in dictionary editing. I read the preface and had a feeling: did the author bring dictionary habits into normal writing? Every sentence is very short. As you read, it suddenly cuts off.
Isn’t good Japanese writing supposed to be long and smelly? It made me feel a bit unaccustomed (
Continuing, I found the main text still has lots of transformed common Japanese sentence patterns.
This damned sense of relief
Anime
The October season has arrived, but my anime-watching time has disappeared…
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Watching
- 青之箱
Every time I watch it, my mind drifts into the same thought: “Can a worn-out office worker like me really consume something this youthful?”
It’s too youthful. Too dazzling.
Currently watching weekly. - 胆大党
Produced by Science SARU. The art style is pretty distinctive.
The heroine’s voice actress is the same as Lemon from last quarter’s “losing heroine” show. When watching this, I keep mixing them up, like Lemon is talking (
Last quarter’s sporty Lemon and this gyaru: both are character archetypes I’m not into (
Watched 3 episodes. Haven’t continued. - 魔法光源股份有限公司
Production is fine, but the camera work is a bit weird. Feels like the team is too eager to show off their 3D tech (
Also, you can learn some workplace Japanese
Watched about 3 episodes.
- 青之箱
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Want to watch
- 地错 第 5 季
I read the novel up to around volume 17. This season should be able to finish it. - 噗妮露是可爱史莱姆
Heard it’s kind of magical. - 魔王 2099
Heard it’s pretty good.
- 地错 第 5 季
I already felt that in the July season, finishing only one show (the losing heroine one) was too few. Now the October season really feels like I have no energy to keep up.
On one hand, there aren’t many shows I’m interested in. On the other hand… “Why do humans have to work?” (work hollowed out my body
Others
Recent TV/movies. I try not to spoil.
东京教父
Humax Satoshi Kon birthday festival, limited two-week screening of Kon’s works. This time I watched Tokyo Godfathers.
The protagonists are three homeless people, and while watching them, my mind kept drifting off in an unhelpful direction: if a bowl of food and a ladle of water are enough to keep a person alive, then what exactly is the point of exhausting myself like this for work? 😇
Sure, I eat better than homeless people do, and if I get sick I can pay for treatment. But is that difference really enough to justify all of this? (
The final shot where Hana falls is stunning: a gust of wind rolls up a vertical ad banner, and the golden morning sun shining between tall buildings hits Hana perfectly, sparkling.
The story itself didn’t give me particularly strong feelings. The plot progression feels a bit too reliant on coincidences.
Compared to Tokyo Godfathers, I feel Millennium Actress (which I watched earlier) is more worth savoring.
Two of Kon’s feature films are still left: Perfect Blue and Paprika. I’ll keep waiting for re-screenings.
Joker 2
Didn’t understand it.
Somehow the half-awake, half-dreaming, crazy mental state of the Joker in the film doesn’t feel that different from mine 🤡
A friend reminded me that I hadn’t watched the prequel, which explains why I couldn’t understand the plot.
My impression of Joker is still stuck in the Batman-movie era.
Civil War
I thought from the poster it would be a hot-blooded war movie, but it was a story told from the perspective of two female war correspondents. The film composition is great.
Far exceeded expectations. This month’s surprise.
Random Thoughts
Wage slave
The old me: watching new anime the moment each episode aired.
The current me: the October season started two weeks ago, and I’m only just now beginning.
I finally understand what it feels like for those people who quit fandom the moment they start working.
This month I moved onto a new work site and started commuting in every day. It feels like the act of going to work alone already consumes all of my energy.
The stated hours are 9 to 6, but in reality that means getting up around 7 and not getting home until sometime after 7, assuming nothing else happens. Throw together a perfunctory dinner, waste a little time, and suddenly it’s already 10 p.m.
Wash up, get ready for the next day, zone out a little more, and if I’m lucky I can crawl into bed before midnight.
The amount of time that actually belongs to me is pitiful.
Even when I want to do something, I often can’t summon the energy. Sometimes I don’t even have enough left to open my computer and watch anime.
In fact, from Monday to Friday I genuinely did not touch the computer at all. I only opened it on Saturday afternoon and watched a little of the October season then.
Work really does consume people 🙁
Diagnosis: working-working-working.jpg
Japan IT
Planning a 10,000-character rant about trash Japan IT, in progress
Countless complaints eventually become a long sigh (x100).
It’s boring. Doing bad work is painfully boring.
Output
I wanted to water a book note post, but I’ll just stuff it into the Monthly Log to pad the word count.
Travel
鴻巣花火大会
The original plan was to watch the Kawasaki fireworks again this year, but the Konosu Fireworks Festival launches 20,000 fireworks, even more than Kawasaki’s 100th anniversary celebration.
Both were on the same day. After some hesitation, I decided to go to Konosu for the hype.
As the date approached, the weather forecast kept getting worse. It seemed like it would rain, and not lightly.
The organizers were also watching the weather closely. Their official site announcement said they’d decide at 10am that day whether to cancel.
In the end, it was held as normal. The organizers were really pushing it. Maybe they didn’t want months of preparation (and paid seats) to be wasted.
Saw a “fireworks artisan” with a Western face on the road. That feels rare.
Near the river embankment, I saw from afar that people were packed on top. I almost thought there’d be nowhere to sit.
Luckily, up close, the slope still had plenty of space. But because of the rain, the grass was wet and slippery.
I had to sit on the slope in a very tiring posture, constantly maintaining balance so I wouldn’t slide down.
Plus, for some reason, there were tons of mosquitoes that could take off in the drizzly rain. Sacrificed too much just to watch fireworks (
Around 5:30pm, the fireworks finally started, first with a Disney-themed drone show.
I hadn’t used long exposure in a while, so in the first half hour I barely got any usable photos.
I picked a few that are barely okay:
In the second half, the cloud layer in the sky suddenly got thicker. Combined with the smoke left by the fireworks, many fireworks exploded inside the clouds and couldn’t be seen at all. What a pity for the fireworks artisans’ effort.
Hope next time I get good weather.
阿波おどり
It was exactly last year’s Awa Odori season when I got this Sony A7C2.
This year I went again, but it felt less interesting. It’s the same every year.
Snapped a bit. This person seems to be an official photographer.
Misc
Nothing in particular…
Closing
This month’s Monthly Log got dragged to late November. Most of the content was actually written; I just needed to organize it a bit.
But work has left me feeling hollowed out, and I can’t summon enthusiasm for much of anything. So I still managed to drag the final cleanup of this post out across several extra weeks.
I genuinely admire the people who somehow keep both work and family running at the same time, especially once children are involved. How do they still have enough energy after work to do anything for themselves? I honestly do not feel capable of it.
So again: why do people have to work? (staring at the sky.jpg)
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