先日西宮でホットヨガを体験しました。ヨガは結構長い間やっています。気づいたら7年ほど。フィットネスヨーガから始まりアシュタンガヨガのクラスに何回か参加しました。2003年頃からすごい勢いで流行っていきましたが、確かそのころ、坂本龍一がニューヨークでやっていたとかで話題となっていたのを記憶しています。65年以上断食をしているプララド・ジャニさんというインド人の83歳男性のニュースを先日テレビで観ました。太陽光のみをエネルギー源とし、ヨガと瞑想の毎日を送っているとのこと。水すら飲まないそうです。食べないから排泄の必要もなく汗もかかないそうです。すごすぎます！ 何人もの医者が彼の体を調べたところ、全くの異常なし。医学的な視点からの情報ばかりで、どんなヨガや瞑想をしているのかが取り上げられていなかったのが残念。ヨガと瞑想がすごいのかプララドさんがすごいのか、本当に人間なのか？ んー、不思議な世界です。
Trafalgar Square is in the heart of London, and is home to Nelson's Column, one of the UK's most famous landmarks. It also contains an empty plinth (the base for a statue). For the last few years, various artists have contributed temporary artworks to occupy the plinth. Now is the turn of Antony Gormley, one of Britain's most famous artists.
His idea is to have real people, who have volunteered, to stand on the plinth for one hour, each and every hour between 6th July and 14th October 2009. That will be 2,400 people, doing whatever they want to do for sixty minutes. The project is called One & Other, and it is happening right now. You can watch the event live at this website:
If it were you on the plinth, what would you do?
There are some great artists playing at Summer Sonic in Osaka this year, not least Sonic Youth and Aphex Twin. My number one recommendation however, has to be Phoenix. I saw them at Club Quattro in Shinsaibashi in 2006, and it was one of the best gigs I have ever seen. They come from Paris, although they sing in English, and their songs have a very distinctive sound: melodic, simple, and always memorable. Their new album "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" has just been released. I prefer their previous album, "It's Never Been Like That", but the new one is definitely worth a listen, especially the single "Lisztomania":
If you get the chance, see them for yourself at Summer Sonic:
http://www.summersonic.com/09/lineup/009.html?a=o08
This is a popular competition in Europe, which takes place in spring every year. Each European country performs a song, and then they vote for the best one. It's Europe's version of the Red & White Music Festival (紅白歌合戦). It started in 1956 and is always hosted in the country of the previous year's winner. This year the lucky country is Russia!
To be honest, most of the songs are pretty bad, but it's a lot of fun and there are many 'interesting' songs and costumes. Probably the most famous act to win Eurovision is Abba. They won in 1974 with their song "Waterloo", and after that they became popular all over the world. My favourite Eurovision song is called "Making your mind up" by Bucks Fizz - it won in 1981 (representing the UK - yay!), and is a perfect example of a catchy, Eurovision pop song!
Check it out:
Eurovision 1981 - UK - "Making your mind up" (You Tube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVvz7NA28CM
For more information about this year's contest in Moscow, go to:
Eurovision Song Contest - Moscow 2009
http://www.eurovision.tv/page/home
Elbow are a band from Manchester in the UK. Their last album 'The Seldom Seen Kid' won the Mercury Music Prize (the top award for new British music). Here is a link to the video of their song 'One Day Like This'. I like the song because it's uplifting. The video is a little out of the ordinary, but for me at least it's powerful and life affirming. See what you think.
When I was young I wanted to live in a treehouse. I think I liked the idea of having my own base high above the everyday world on the ground. I would be able to watch the comings and goings down below, and swing through the trees on my way to school. Finding this website of green (environmentally friendly) treehouses has reminded me of that. It shows new designs from all over the world. Some of them are a little strange (especially the one in Okinawa), while others are truly inspirational. Trees are the 'mansions' of the future!
See more images: The best green treehouse designs｜Environment｜guardian.co.uk
