2008年12月26日金曜日

Valentine to the City of Lights








After sending out my research proposal , application documents for International Admission to Graduate Program in Sustainability Science (GPSS) , I caught a great french show called " PARIS" at Shibuya Tokyu BukaMura with Yuki san, My ex-colleague in Agilent Technologies Spore.Both of us love Paris and we have a bunch of france's friends.

"Paris" is the new film by Cédric Klapisch concerning a large group of people living in Paris. If there is one big idea, it is that life is a gift, and to be lived, in this most beautiful of cities. Stop grumbling and get it on with it, the film director seems to be saying to Paris.Though I was really too tired due to lack of sleep, still enjoyed watching this show a lots with knowing nothing about frence but counting on the Japanese subtitles.

This is the story of a Parisian who is sick and thinks he may die. His condition makes him look at all the people he meets in a new and different way. Imagining his death suddenly gives new meaning to his life, to other peoples’ lives, and to the life of the whole city. Fruit and vegetable sellers, a woman who runs a bakery, a social worker, a dancer, an architect, a homeless person, a university professor, a model, an illegal immigrant from Cameroon... All these very different people come together in this city and in this film. You might imagine there’s nothing special about them, but for every single one of them, their life is unique. You might believe their problems don’t matter, but to them, they are the most important things in the world.

I find this film is full of understated humour. Sometimes we are laughing at the characters as much as with them, but there is a sense in which their ridiculousness makes them all the more real and all the more worthy of affection. It is also a film which is truly grim in places and which pulls no punches in dealing with matters of life and death, but this is all a part of its beauty.

Recall my good friend's bright smile after watching this show~~

2008年12月24日水曜日

Gov't to extend cash handouts to 2 mil registered foreign residents

定額給付金、全外国人も原則対象 「2万円」の基準日は2月1日 Year 2009
12月20日16時56分配信 産経新聞


 総務省は20日、平成21年度第2次補正予算案の閣議決定に伴い、同案に盛り込まれた1人当たり原則1万2000円を支給する定額給付金事業の実施概要を明らかにした。給付金総額は1兆9670億円で、このほか国が負担する市区町村の事務経費を825億円と想定して計上した。

 また、11月末の「たたき台」で確定していなかった外国人の扱いについては、外国人登録者のうち、永住者や日本人の配偶者らのほか、在留資格を持つ就労者や留学生らも含めた。この結果、約215万人(平成19年)の登録者のほとんどが対象となる見通し。

 給付金は65歳以上と18歳以下の人には8000円加算し、計2万円が支給されるが、年齢の基準日は来年2月1日に決めた。具体的には、(1)昭和19年2月2日以前(2)平成2年2月2日~21年2月1日-に出生した人が加算支給の対象となる。基準日以降に他の自治体へ転居した場合の手続きなどは今後検討を進める。

 実際に住む場所と住民基本台帳に記載された居住地が異なる場合は、受給手続きが煩雑になる可能性もあり、総務省は正確な届け出を呼びかけている。

The government said Saturday it has decided to recognize 2 million foreigners registered as residents with local governments as of next Feb 1 as eligible for cash benefits it will hand out next year as a fiscal measure to spur private consumption.

The government will recognize foreigners registered as residents on the foreign registry as of Feb 1, 2009 as qualified recipients of the cash handout under the 2 trillion yen program, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Among the 2 million recipients are permanent foreign residents, such as North and South Korean residents in Japan, as well as foreign workers of Japanese ancestry who have residential permits as migrant workers, the ministry said.

Foreigners studying at Japanese schools as well as foreigners accepted as trainees by Japanese companies are also recognized as qualified recipients.

Foreign tourists, foreigners overstaying their visas and other illegal aliens will not be recognized as legitimate recipients, the ministry said.

The administration of Prime Minister Taro Aso approved on Saturday a second supplementary budget that includes the handouts as its main pillar.

The ministry said Feb 1 is the set date for deciding on eligibility for the handouts for both Japanese citizens and registered foreigners. The number of recipients, including foreigners, will total 129 million.

Japanese citizens and foreigners will basically be given 12,000 yen per person, but an extra 8,000 yen will be given to recipients up to and including 18 years old as of the standard date, as well as to recipients 65 years old or older.

Local government officials will check on such recipients’ ages when the cash handouts are disbursed. This means that those receiving additional payouts must be young people born on Feb 2, 1990, or later and elderly people born on Feb 2, 1944, or before.

Feb 2 became the defining date because Japanese law adds one more year to a person’s legal age at midnight on the day before he or she is born, the ministry said.

Consequently, people whose 65th birthday falls on next Feb 2 are counted among qualified recipients of the cash.

The older qualified recipients will total 28 million, while young recipients up to and including 18 years old will number 22 million persons.

But babies who will be born exactly on next Feb 2 or after will not be recognized as qualified recipients, because the government is designating Feb 1 as the defining date for eligibility, it said.

The cash will be handed out through the offices of the local governments at which Japanese citizens or foreigners are registered as residents.

The payments assume that the second extra budget and other relevant bills will pass the Diet. They also assume that local assemblies will pass budgetary bills to cover expenses for administering the payments.

It is not yet known, therefore, whether the government will be able to hand out the cash benefits prior to next March 31 because deliberations on these bills may drag on.

2008年12月23日火曜日

チェ/39歳 別れの手紙

先日、映画のプロモーションで来日中だったみたいで、東京ミッドタウンで偶然見かけました。映画も見に行く予定。

今年のカンヌ主演男優賞、チェ・ゲバラ伝記映画が2部作で公開決定!ブックマーク:

革命家ゲバラにそっくり!
[拡大画像][eiga.com 映画ニュース] 「トラフィック」でアカデミー監督賞受賞のスティーブン・ソダーバーグ監督と、助演男優賞受賞のベニチオ・デル・トロが再タッグを組み、革命家チェ・ゲバラの生涯を描く伝記映画「チェ」2部作の日本公開が決定した。ギャガ・コミュニケーションズと日活の共同配給で、前編「チェ/28歳の革命」が09年正月第2弾、続いて後編「チェ/39歳 別れの手紙」が相次いで公開される。

「チェ」は今年のカンヌ映画祭に出品された時には、4時間22分の長尺な1本だったが、その後、前後編2作品に分割されたようだ。1作目の「28歳の革命」では、エルネスト・チェ・ゲバラが亡命先のメキシコでフィデル・カストロ(のちのキューバ最高議長)と運命的な出会いを果たして、28歳の若さでキューバ革命に着手し、1959年1月1日、革命を成し遂げるまでを描く。2作目の「39歳 別れの手紙」では、キューバを解放し、カストロ議長の右腕という要職を得ながらその地位を捨て、65年10月に「別れの手紙」を書いてキューバを離れ、ゲリラとして革命闘争に身を捧げることを選んだ末に、39歳だった67年10月、ボリビアで銃弾に倒れるまでを描く。物語としては、ゲバラの青年期を描いた「モーターサイクル・ダイアリーズ」(ウォルター・サレス監督、ガエル・ガルシア・ベルナル主演)の後日譚となる。

自らプロデューサーも務めたデル・トロ(プエルトリコ出身)は、アルゼンチン出身のチェ・ゲバラを演じるにあたり、全編でスペイン語の難しい訛りにも挑戦。08年2月退任前のカストロ議長と対面して、生前のゲバラについて入念にインタビューし、完璧なゲバラ像を構築。今年のカンヌ映画祭では主演男優賞に輝くなど、絶賛を浴びている。

なお、同作は今月4日から開幕するカナダのトロント国際映画祭でも特別招待作品として上映され、ソダーバーグ監督とデル・トロも現地入りする予定。

2008年12月21日日曜日

I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing



I could stay awake just to hear you breathing
Watch you smile while you are sleeping
Far away and dreaming
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender
I could stay lost in this moment forever
Well, every moment spent with you
Is a moment I treasure

I don't wanna close my eyes
I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing

Lying close to you
Feeling your heart beating
And I'm wondering what you're dreaming
Wondering if it's me you're seeing
Then I kiss your eyes and thank God we're together
And I just wanna stay with you
In this moment forever, forever and ever

I don't wanna close my eyes
I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing

I don't wanna miss one smile
I don't wanna miss one kiss
Well, I just wanna be with you
Right here with you, just like this
I just wanna hold you close
Feel your heart so close to mine
And stay here in this moment
For all the rest of time

Don't wanna close my eyes
Don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
'Cause I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing

I don't wanna close my eyes
I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing

Don't wanna close my eyes
Don't wanna fall asleep, yeah
I don't wanna miss a thing

2008年12月17日水曜日

Love Letter



大塚愛デビュー5周年! 5枚目となるALBUM! yeah !Otsuka Ai’s 5th studio album, entitled LOVE LETER, was released on 12.17.08

Just got to know this heart-warming love song when I was strolling at Shibuya.
It warm my heart in the winter.The album begins with the title track, LOVE LETTER. She opens up right away with the chorus and it’s almost acapella because of the soft beautiful piano. Her vocals are wonderful, hitting the higher notes with grace and ease.