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Japanese Blog (日本語のブログ) 栄養失調に陥る不思議   3/31/12 March 31, 2012

長らくのご無沙汰です。英語ページには、映画・コンサートの感想やら、演奏したコンサートのことなど、日常的に書いているのですが、日本で配給されている映画も、日本で活躍している演奏家も、皆違うので、つい日本語ページは筆不精に。久しぶりに、このーページにブログ書いています。 私は、毎年健康診断を主治医と行い、いろいろチェックしてもらっています。現代では、検査技術が進歩しているので、血液検査から、かなりの病気が判明します。その代わり、かなりの量、血液を採られるので、覚悟は必要ですが・・。癌家系出身の私は、特に癌の検診には気をつけています。今回の検診で分かったのは、ビタミンD不足というものでした。これは、骨を形成するカルシウムに必要な栄養素で、多分日本人に不足しがちな物質ではないかと、思います。まず、極端な紫外線対策。日本人女性のほとんどが、日焼けを恐れ、手袋から、日傘、日焼けクリームなどの話題には事欠かないものの、日光不足の話はとんと聞かないですね。というのも、日光にある一定時間当たらないと、このビタミンDが稼動しないのです。そして、ビタミンDが不足するとカルシウムが取れず、骨に関する疾患が出てきます。そして次に、野菜への信仰から、肉・魚といった蛋白質が不足がちになること。そりゃあ、野菜を沢山食べれば、お腹いっぱいになって、それ以外の食品の入る余裕がなくなりますものね!ビタミンDは、特に青魚に多く、卵など、コレステロールが高いと言われる食品にも含まれます。それから、これも今回少し調べて分かったのですが、玄米に含まれるリンが、カルシウムの吸収を腸で妨げるという事。だから、粗食が一番と言って、「玄米と味噌汁」という食事を採り続けていると、極端な栄養不足になるという訳です。生活にしろ、食事にしろ、すべてバランスが大事ということを、改めて認識させられました。そして、とても複雑な我々の体も、そのバランスの上に成り立っており、天秤が右に行っても、左に行っても、体調を崩してしまう。健康診断はとても大事だと思いますよ。私の親しい友人の一人も、この毎年行う健康診断で癌が見つかり、命拾いしました。ちょっと億劫でも、是非毎年健康診断を。そして、時間とお金に余裕があれば、精密に行うことをお薦めします。

English Blog A Movie “Waiting for Guffman” 3/31/12 March 31, 2012

It is an amazing movie! It was again one of Laemmle’s Sneak Preview at Playhouse 7 in Pasadena. This theater is my FAVORITE. The director/co-writer/a lead actor is Christopher Guest, and he does very creative, imaginative, funny, charming, and skillful work on this movie. I don’t know why this movie has not been popular…. All […]

English Blog Martin Frost, clarinet, on Aho Concerto with LA Phil 3/26/12 March 26, 2012

I had never heard clarinet like Martin Frost plays, technically and artistically. He is a real genius. Frost makes clarinet a big universe. His beautiful, singing and smooth line, powerful forte without harshly, amazing fingers, imagination and artistry. I heard he practices 8 hours/day with great focus, and plays about 150 concerts a year. Frost received a […]

English Blog A Movie “Chico and Rita” 3/19/12 March 20, 2012

Chico and Rita was nominated for Best Animated Film at Oscar this year, but did not win. I was very curious to see this film because the story is based in Cuba where I visited in 2010 as a part of my concert tour. I have a great memory from Cuba. It was beautiful…. This film […]

English Blog A Movie “A Separation” 3/18/12 March 20, 2012

“A Separation” is the winner for Best Foreign Film at Oscar this year. It is a very dark and sad story with deep cultural/religeous back ground. The story is set with a modern family in Iran. The wife, Simin, wants to leave Iran with her husband, Nader, and daughter, Termeh, for freedom (I think), but her husband […]

English Blog Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring by LA Opera 3/15/12 March 15, 2012

My spring break “music fest” continues. Now I crossed over 1st street to go to Dorothy Chandler for Opera, Benjamin Britten’s very witty “Albert Herring”. It was really fun and cute. I enjoyed Britten’s amazing skill with words and all of singers acted and sang in perfect style in a super high level. It is a story […]

English Blog Jean-Guihen Queyras at Piatigorsky International Cello Festival 3/12/12 March 12, 2012

Los Angeles is very lucky to have this amazing cello festival this week (Ralph Kirshbaum, the festival’s artistic director). It is 10-day festival inviting first class cellists from all over the world. I could not attend the first night of this festival, but I listened the opening concert of 5 concertos on KUSC. Living in LA, we […]

English Blog A Movie “My Week with Marilyn” 3/5/12 March 12, 2012

I had a few free hours last Monday so I went to see a movie “My Week with Marilyn”.  It is a story of a struggling, difficult, charming and cute actress who was a hottest girl in the world back then. And truly Marilyn Monroe still has a big status. In the early summer of 1956, […]

English Blog My Mission to Introduce Japanese Music to the World 3/4/12 March 4, 2012

I performed/presented “A Piano Journey in Japan: Import, Synthesis, and Export – From the First Piano Piece in Japan to Game Music” at Occidental College yesterday. Fortunately the hall (small and cozy, Bird Studio) was packed, and the audience was interested in listening music and learning Japanese culture and history. I have been doing Japanese […]

Book Reviews (マイブック評) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot 2/17/12 February 18, 2012

I usually write about books in my Book Reviews, but this book is so strong that I decided to write in my blogs. This book has been Bestsellers for weeks, and I was very excited to start reading it. It is a documentary, a science history, a racism in America, a family history, humanity, poverty, and […]