modern life
Satoshi Kon's last words
Thu, 2010-08-26 00:37 — makiSatoshi Kon, the director of anime movies Perfect Blue, Tokyo Godfathers, Millenium Actress and Paprika, as well as the TV series Paranoia Agent, died on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 at the age of 46. (NY Times obituary.) He left behind a rambling but extraordinary document, which his family has posthumously posted on his blog.
They're the last words of a supremely talented artist who knows he is dying very soon, with work left unfinished. It's been the talk of the Japanese internet, and it struck me deeply.
There is no official translation into English of the text, so I have translated it in its entirety, trying to keep the spirit and tone of the original. It is indeed rather long and rambling - he wrote it like that. I'm sure he didn't sit down to outline it before he wrote it. It's not authorized in any way, and if I receive objections from interested parties or see a formal translation up somewhere I'll take this down. (Note: as of April 2012 this hasn't happened, so chances are this is the only English version you'll ever see.) In any case, these are the words of a dying artist, waiting for his flight to come and transport him away.
Soon after I posted this translation, it was linked to by many sites worldwide. Several people translated it into other languages; you can find a list of the versions I know of at the bottom.
Email woes
Wed, 2009-11-04 18:31 — makiTo "Victoria": I tried to email you back but your email inbox is full.
So it's really you, not me.
Pot, kettle, black and Kindle: The New Yorker Digital Edition sucks
Mon, 2009-08-17 10:42 — makiA recent article in The New Yorker dissing Amazon's Kindle made me snort with sarcastic laughter. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
If there was ever an incentive to plan for the future
Mon, 2008-12-15 11:01 — makiGiven the current state of the economy and so on, I've become increasingly aware that, as far away as it might seem to be, I should really plan ahead for when I am no longer able to work and earn a living. But still, I know that I am not very well prepared, and my savings are not nearly what they should be.
But today, I heard something that has really affected me.
Well, forget that
Mon, 2008-12-15 03:17 — makiWell, forget the last post. Just Stuff I Like hasn't worked out at all, because other things have gotten higher priority now. For the moment Twitter is where I spout my short thoughts, and I'm back here for longer stuff, eventually.
Where previously, little fragments of ideas may have gradually accumulated, building up to a big idea in the recesses of your mind, participating in Twitter drains away those ideas as soon as they float by. At the end, you are left with an empty void, and a vague feeling that something is missing.
Fallen heroes
Mon, 2008-08-18 11:51 — makiIt was quite heartbreaking to see Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang have to pull out of his Olympic event due to injury. I have to admit that I am now very curious to see how his country reacts to a fallen hero with such big expectations on his shoulders.
PR pitches to blogs: The good, the bad, and the WTF
Fri, 2008-05-09 20:51 — makiAs the owner of a couple of mildly popular blogs (not this one,obviously) I, like many others, get my daily dose of PR email. I usually skim and dump them. Most of them are barely worth that amount of attention. (I don't even count the lame ones sent to the address where the domains are registered, asking for a 'cooperation' (translation: link exchange) with a "top rated web site with a Google PR of 0". Huh?)
Assholes armed with a validation button
Wed, 2008-03-12 04:36 — makiAmen.
I've had the pleasure of being informed that my pages do not validate a number of times. I suppose it's because way back then I used to write about web design and stuff, and my old articles are still floating out there on the interwebs. Guess one reason why I've basically stopped writing about such things.
(I know exactly where and why my pages don't validate. Go away.)
