Model making, and Red Hot Chili Peppers

I tried to concentrate on making a computer model, but it is really difficult. For a breaking time, sometimes I listened to the tunes of Red Hot Chili Peppers. I had three favourite music artists in my life. The first one was Queen. I got to know them when I was a junior high student and Freddy had already passed, but his voice captured me and I thought I didn’t need any other music but theirs.

The second was Radio Head, especially the songs in “OK computer”. I think every teenagers should listen to them as a trial. Their melancholic sounds totally fitted my psychology in teenage days.

The third one is The Red Hot Chili Peppers, but I just like their songs after Californication, so I might not be a real freak of them. I can’t explain the cool point well, but I think the key factor is the sound of bass, I guess the bassist, Flea, must be a genius.

Anyway, I have to focus on my project. Keeping motivation is sometimes very difficult. I don’t know why, but sometimes I can’t control it. I know I should control it, but my consciousness is going to some different direction naturally.

Littlehampton and Arundel

I went with some friends of mine to Littlehampton where is located at southern England, and it takes one and half an hour to get there from London Victoria Station. The purpose was to see a café on the beach designed by Thomas Heatherwick.

I was interested in the exterior, but actually the interior was more interesting. The detail was not so sophisticated and I felt a bit disappointed, but the inside is also a dynamic shape like the exterior, so I was a little bit surprised because I did totally not expect it. The café was very popular and not so big, so we wanted to have lunch there but it was already full with reservation.

When we walked around the café and beach, we found a recreation amenity, where you can play mini golf, bowling and so on. One staff approached us and asked us to see how to play bowling because he thought we hadn’t seen it. Actually we didn’t know well about the game, so we followed them.
I thought we could just watched it, but when a friend of mine told the staff if we could play it or not, the staff accepted it with good cheer.

The game, bowling, was very simple game, whose purpose is to make hit a target with a bit distorted ball, but actually very difficult and exciting. Balls used in the game are not perfect round, so they always take a curve. All you do is just adjusting the throwing speed and angle, but it’s not so easy. I always thought next throwing must be successful, and I couldn’t stop playing it soon. It was very good experience, and really fun, thank the staff!!!!
.
Then, we went to Arundel, where the staff in recreation facility recommended us to visit. There is a big castle, which has a large garden. The entrance is not for free, but you can see many rooms and facilities in the castle. Usually the ornament is very classic, but some of them were humorous decorations such as funny faces, and there was some Chinese furniture, so I wondered if it was stolen.

On the train for return, we played tramp cards’ game. I think it is very interesting to play it with foreign people because they usually play very different games, and some games are very similar to ours, but sometimes the detail is different. It is very good to understand other cultures.

Crime and Design

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/5173/

Government attempts to ‘design out’ crime by sticking anti-theft,
noise-emitting devices around the country will make us feel less secure.

I can understand what it means, but if so, what can designers do for reducing crime?
It is clear that it is the most important that communities and people themselves should be more secure and ethical, but it has almost nothing to do with design. The author might be afraid of design becoming too ethics to be attractive. On that point, I agree with the author, but I also feel it is a little nonsense that designers, or people who have a job related with design, appeal the uselessness of design.

How to avoid jet lag

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7414437.stm

"So, in this case, simply avoiding any food on the plane, and then eating as
soon as you land, should help you to adjust and avoid some of the uncomfortable
feelings of jet lag."

It's a interesting research, but I really like relax time in air plane, such as having meal, watching movies, drinking beer and so on, so maybe I can't follow this advice...

What should I do next year?

Now I should be busy for final project, but actually the most biggest problem for me now is what I should do next year.

I have two plans now. One is to go to a kind of a design marketing course in London, and the other is going to Architecture course. The latter has also two choices, it’s in London or Tokyo, so actually there are three plans.

Now, I think first choice is better, because I would really like to stay in London more if I don’t need to care about a financial aspect. Marketing course is not so bad, and I should get a interesting job related with design and art. It is the most possible solution so far.

The second choice, studying architecture in London, is ideal choice but not actual, because studying architecture take a long time and very expensive in London. The third choice is a sort of compromise resolution, but actually I think it is too early to go back to Japan now. Staying in a foreign country for just one year is too short to really learn something like the language, the culture and so on.

Anyway, I’ve got to get any offer from school or company, otherwise I have no choice but going back to Japan. I have already applied for some courses but I haven’t received any reply yet. I asked the staff who supported me to apply the course to confirm it, but it has been no reply yet as well…

Manchester United!!!!

Yesterday, there was the final match of Champions League.
I don’t have particular favourite football team, but my college is Chelsea, so usually I hope Chelsea to win.

The game was very good, it’s very exciting and I couldn’t expect the result until the last moment. I really like John Terry, so when his soot went out, I felt so sad. Penalty Kick is decided almost accidentally. The ability of kickers doesn’t have nothing to do with the result in most cases.

I wish I would have been in Moscow…
I’ll go to football stadium to see a football match in London one day….

Animation on the wall

I have totally no idea about how to make it. It must have taken ages....

http://www.fhm.com/site/videochannel/channelindex.aspx?categoryid=193

www.blublu.org
http://www.blublu.org/sito/video/video.htm

Engineering work or Financial work?

Interbrand to create branding for engineering body
http://www.designweek.co.uk/Articles/138498/Interbrand+to+create+branding+for+engineering+body.html

Now, many engineering undergraduates want to work in financial industry. I think it is the same as Japan. When I searched for some job just after I graduated from my university in Japan, I saw many engineering students in briefing sessions of financial companies.

I think it is inevitable that students move from engineering industry to financial industry as the situation of industry in the country is changing.

Japan is still strong in engineering world, but I think, in the future, the situation will change. I think Japan should be strong in finance and creative industry, because it is very difficult to survive in labor-intensive industry.

The UK should be already in this situation, so for people who are related with engineering industry it is very important to take back good engineering students, but like I said, I think it looks against trend of the times.

Bicycle repaired/ For succeeding as a designer strong passion must be needed!!!

My bicycle got a flat tire, so I brought it to a repair shop. It is not the nearest one from my place, but it is the cheapest in all I have know. I repaired it only few weeks ago, but the condition of the rear tire was too bad, so it might have been easy for the internal tube to get punctured.

The staff recommended me to change the external tire, but the shop itself already closed, he asked me to come again later. I saw the inside of the shop and it was really messy!!! It was packed with bicycles!!! I was a bit surprised…



A friend of mine in Japan introduced a friend of her who is living in London now to me. I had sent e-mail to her and got an appointment to see her today. We gathered at London Bridge station and went to a café which I usually go when I come to London Bridge. Meeting a new person is always exciting. I really like it, sometimes I get a bit nervous though.

She’s studying English now and moves to the Lake District a few months later. Her English course includes internship, so she works in the Lake District. It might be better for learning English than just staying in London, it might not be so fun though.

She worked in a interior design company and she told me how it was. Her company didn’t want her to quit her job, but she thought the reason was that the salary was too cheap for other people to want to work in the company. I often heard that design and architecture work in Japan was very hard, and her case sounded like the same. It might mean many people want to work in the industry and strong passion must be needed to succeed!!!

skin

It’s interesting.
Why?
1. Cultural difference
I don’t know well about teenagers’ life in England. Of course, it’s just a fiction, so I shouldn’t just believe it, but comparison between them and that of Japanese are very interesting as well as mine. My school life was not so exciting!! I never regret my teenage life, but sometimes I think I should be more active. It is still right for my current situation. I think we don’t need to think we should be mature. Steve Jobs also says, “stay hungry, stay foolish”. What beautiful words they are.

2. Not so happy story
It’s not just easy soap opera. Every character has some trouble, but they are not so negative. According to Wikipedia, one comedian says Skins makes viewers lonelier, but I think actually it won’t, because they don’t lose their hope. The reason is their youth. I should admit that every young people are very powerful, but we should be always positive and never lose our hope.

Richmond Park

I went to Richmond Park, which is the east side of London.
http://www.royalparks.org.uk/richmond/

It has kind of hill and the view is quite nice.
The name has "park", but actually it looks like a forest or wilderness, and there are many deer.
Today's weather was very mild, so it's a good day for hiking.

It's very difficult to find such kinds of parks in Tokyo.
We should have brought a mattress and some stuff for playing in the field.

What do you know the most expensive house is?

So far, it is Residence Antilia, owned by Reliance head Mukesh Ambani in Munbai. It is expected to cost $2bn...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7379562.stm

I wish I could get one percent of the cost.
The design is also interesting.

Why are Model T black?

"Continued Notably, for many years the Model T was solely available with black paintwork due to the fact that the black paint dried faster than any other color"
http://www.9sky.ca/7503

It is very interesting, because nowadays color is just option and i thought it has nothing to do with the productivity.