New Moon (about)

 

Not exactly.  If it was really a New Moon, we can not see it’s totally black face on front of a blight rising Sun.   Other obstacle is, normally we are not watching such early morning sky.  = So, I discovered this Moon almost in an accident.   It was after 3:30, I just looked out the window and found something blight object in a still dark dawn sky.  It took a while for me to realise that it was in fact a Moon.  It’s funny, we expect that the Moon is somewhat round, or at least half round, therefore like this, iron hook kind of THING can not be a Moon though, as it slowly moving up right, I convinced that this is in deed a Moon.   (The photo above was a picture of my kitchen window, overlooking the Moon. — by a 55mm lens on A7R camera)

It was the same kind of misunderstanding, that the white light IS exist (they were not white but the mix of all tri-color = same as a PC or TV screen, when all BGR lit evenly, we feel it was white) so as the Moon IS a round blight object in the Sky.  In reality, Moon is not blight at all but its surface shine when its was hit by the Sun light. = It’s mean, Moon shines only a side facing the Sun.  And, when the Moon was in the opposite of the Sun, we can see fully lit (hence it looks fully round) surface which we call Full-Moon.  And when the Moon is in the same direction of the Sun, we only see it’s un-lit back = This is the New Moon.  (And the half Moon is somewhere between.  🙂   )  The most frightening reality in the life is, when we see the full moon 12 times, a year has gone !

(Photo above left was a cropped center of a 18mm lens image and the right was a shot by a 500mm lens on A7R camera)

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Exploding Battery

It is a well-known fact that the battery could explode and even start a fire.  I’ve seen many exploded battery, still never encounter a fire started by a elec’ device = When its fails, such as a short-circuit or a component failure, it makes a big bang (exploded electrolytic capacitor may make a lots of mess = blow out a chemical) = the circuit was burnt out therefore no more power to start a fire. (so far)

The photo here above was a Ni-MH Rechargeable Battery which has been exploded with big bang  (= blow out the hydrogen gas) !    The battery itself came from Lidle with a price of  £2.99 for 4x AA (said to have 2500mAH !) —– We can’t expect a quality from such a price but the manufacturer needed to get lid of the dead-stock which was rejected by the good vender or brand, even for a scrap price — still I didn’t anticipate an explosion.  I’ve seen many coin type battery exploded but this is the first time to see AA type exploded in such severe way. 

In this case, I was near by and disconnected the charger from the main at once.   But if it was happened while I was away, it could be rather dreadful to be happened ! (Don’t leave the battery in a charger while it was ON not attended.)   Be careful.    Prepare for the worst.

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Daikon Flowers — ?

Like most of the root vegetables, this Daikon (Japanese white Radish / Mouli) started to shoot before I eat. (I bought 4 Daikons  for £1 ! = Even if I eat it every day, it would take at least 4 days.)  Like Ginger, Onion, Garrick etc if they shoot too big (more than 2″) before I noticed, I dare to cut it off, instead I plant it to a pot and let it  grow, for me to play good hypocrite.  Ready butchered meat, chicken or fish kind by somebody else is easy to eat (somebody else got blood on the hand = not me), still I can kill and boiled alive the vegetables, bean etc without any hesitation and eat them.  Though, when I see their vigorous activity on front of my eyes, I get a bit shy.  So, I put it to a pot.  Generally, they start rooting and grow up. 

But this Daikon took different direction.  Without showing any interest to start even single root, she just started to shoot up. —– I realized that she is growing flowering stem.  Was that because I left enough Daikon flesh as an energy reserves, so that she doesn’t need to seek any more nutrition from the roots but went to grow flowering stem straight.  Or was it the season to go flowering anyway ?

So the serious question arose, “Has she made a choice = instead to grow roots but go to flowering ?”  And was that because she noticed that she got enough reserve to do ?  Or hard-wired program / internal clock directed her to grow flowering stem as a season’s imperative.  But how she did know the season ?  Did she assess the amount of sunshine, or the length of daytime ?  —– What so ever the decision made === Where was it processed ?  Has she got any CPU or a kind of brain ? —– OR was it just a hard-wired (Genetically programmed = When time comes, one gene activated, and started the Flowering Process like a chain reaction.)  —– You may say it IS just a cut off tip of a garbage === still having so much so high level decision-making of which the mechanism IS beyond our comprehension. 

= I wrote those above almost two weeks ago, thinking when I saw her flowers, I would put its photo into my post. —–  Though, it turned out to be not so. = It seems, subdued light in the kitchen window wasn’t good enough.  But in the same time, the dry air seems killed off the flower buds. === Nature or Daikon’s condition didn’t go as what I expected. = They got their own rules and rationals.  And the environment was not meet the plan of the Daikon itself.  ( I did give a mist of water splay time to time though, apparently it didn’t help.)  What we believe we know something and thinking / expecting something might be just a fraud. 

Days passed.  This is what they are now.   It is the end stage of the cut off top of a Daikon which was hoped to have the flowers.  I’m not sure the point, any good of what I did. —– was that just a useless interference, mess-up to the Daikon’s fate ?   Or my greedy expectation to see the flowers ?    Whether it was the more natural scenario for the Daikon tip to rotten and die in the rubbish bin or was it kind to give a yet another opportunity ? —– while considering the main body of the Daikon was died in horrifying agony while boiled alive. 

Life and death is a complicated issue.   Still, it is questionable if I were entitle to mess-up with other’s life in the first place.  (Let alone, killing and eating them while pretending to be friendly with them.)

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What a hell = Pigeons

I found a pigeon in my veranda — sound may not be strange at all, but it was not a kind of visiting bird but nesting one.  When I open the door and step out, the pigeon fly away.  Then, I noticed a nest behind a plant pot.  I think, I stepped out at least two weeks ago.  Still, I’m not sure whether I just didn’t notice it then or the nest was made after that day (it is not likely, because the nest is having not only an egg but already feathering chick as well. —– It seemed the hen-pigeon didn’t comeback after that.  So, the abandoned chick had to go alone under a  cold night.  — Yet, next morning, surprisingly the chick was very active.  As no sign of the mother / hen-pigeon I decided to feed the chick.  (Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a generous person.  Every week, I’m eating chicken etc = not vegetarian, not a friend of earth.  Still, strangely, time to time I did take care of baby animal (such as to revive stillborn kittens) or bird chick.  Simply because I had to DO something.) 

From my experience, I know how to feed baby chick. (It’s no use to put a birds-feed on front of  baby, as they don’t know to peck a feed by themselves.) === So that, by putting the fingers between the chick’s beak (to open them wide) then inject rather runny prepared meal (such as ground rice, wheat, bean, smashed maze, piece of apple all mixed-up with water) into the chick’s throat.  You must be horrified to hear such brutal practice though, this is perfectly harmless and effective method. —– only an alternative was, chew the grain / birds-feed in the own mouth and feed the chick, mouth to beak. (not very hygienic way — to the man or to the chick may be arguable.)  

As a sign of how the chick was happy with this rather brutal force-feeding, chick started to think my fingers as the mother’s feeding beak, so, started to peck and beg.

But, my honest feeling is, I hate this.  I absolutely hate.   Once I started, I have to continue this till the chick grown up.  Other trouble is, since the chick got me imprinted, wouldn’t fly away to join other pigeons.  And well may be the pigeon become a stoker to follow and watch me all through the life. (I know this, as it happened before, when I was in Japan.)  It’s no good to my life or pigeon’s life neither.   Fundamentally there is no way out, unless the mother Pigeon comeback,  It’s really a trouble.

—– I don’t know whether it was just a coincidence or was it the mother bird / hen-pigeon = a pigeon came several times (following day as well) (photo above right) and perched on the edge of kitchen window as if she wanted to know the well-being of her chick.  (May be she can hear her chick chirping even in a distance.)  (Sound getting like a pigeon’s soap-drama isn’t it ? )

—– This trouble in its reality is, feeding 3~4 times a day, cleaning the shit 10 times a day !  (Chick aim the bottom outside, so, take the chick out and wash the plastic container = this endless task is nothing but a hell in deed.  And yet another trouble is, as I have to wash my hand after I touched the chick, the hand became too dry = You see, why I said, I hate this !)  😀   (So, don’t ask about the egg left in the nest.  I can’t give my bosom to hug the egg all day = that egg must embrace the fate when mother bird abandoned it.  —– I can do what I can.)

—– Then, you might start to wonder why do I need to do this ?   Yes, this IS what the Karma mean.  You can not cherry-pick your Karma.  When it’s come, it has come.  And when it’s come, we have to deal with it with our best we can.  

One episode in the Agama scripture showed the understanding and the attitude of Lord Buddha toward the coming Karma.  In this episode, Lord Buddha was not expecting any query, let alone argument of why or what for kind, but just follow and do ( = own opinion or judgement was not asked = in other words, the expression of the SELF or existence of the SELF / Atoman was not expected ).  This is what the Buddhism is.   And this is the Zen.

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PS :  Whatsoever the Zen, the Chick died on the day before yesterday (on 18th).  On 17th, I was out half day.   So that, before I go out and after came back, I fed the Chick more feed. Then after that, the Chick drunk a lots of water — and vomit.  Did I fed too much for one time or while I was out, the Chick had been dehydrated ?  Or, since those two days, I put a boiled egg yolk mixed to the feed — was that wrong ? (Hen-pigeon eat many insects = so, it was a kind of supplement = that what I thought.) —– Anyway, the shit of Chick became smaller and became rather inactive.  Then yesterday morning, I found the Chick lying its side and the body temperature was rather low.  I gave warm wather bath. (But now I know, it was not the matter of the temperature, = Chick’s internal energy generator has been stopped working = it was no use to warm up from outside.) —– While I was drying up wrapped in the tissues under warm fan heater’s air, the Chick was loosing its response and became completely inactive.   It was the Chick’s final moment. —– the day later, I buried the dead Chick, under a flowering Juda’s tree in the wood nearby commons.

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Reset the Canon body

It seems, when people use Sigma lens on Canon DSLR camera, sometime this trouble would happen = the camera start to show this sign and the lens stopped to work despite the other Canon lens was still working.

Even though the electronic contacts between the body to lens were clean and perfect —– camera just stop to recognize the lens and block all the functions. — As a matter of fact, there may not be any trouble exists, still the Canon body stop to function (as it was programmed so = to give a hard life to Sigma.   😀  ) 

Don’t panick.  You (and your Sigma) would be OK !  The remedy to this kind of trouble in the most of the electronic gear is the same (= same as your PC). = Just reset the gear / Switch off and restart.  In the Canon DSLR case, while that Sigma lens was mounted on the Canon body, switch off and take the battery out — after a while put the battery back and switch the camera on. —– You see !    Have a nice day.  Have a good shooting.

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All mighty Good

 It said to be 500 years since Martin Ruther cause a revolution in the history of Christianity.  In the time of authoritarian Catholic, Martin Ruther started to preach, to communicate with the God in the common language, not in Latin.  (Obviously, even all mighty God didn’t have a multi lingual capability then !)

In the 13th century when western Christian mission arrived to Japan, they found that the Japan was the most awkward place to preach. — Japanese asked to those missionaries “If your God was such all mighty, why he couldn’t come here by himself while speaking in Japanese ?”  Of course, those western monks couldn’t answer the question. = So, they failed to convert Japan into Christianity and failed to make it into a colony, so even now, the Christian population in Japan is only about 1%. (Though, I’m not sure this figure include Muni as a part of Christian population.)

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Puzzling Cherry

Seeing this picture, very few of you will noticed that this is in fact a quite familiar place.  In deed, I’ve shown the photos of here in my blog a lots of times if not over hundred.   This is a very corner of the green patch I described as a flower meadow in my blog in the past three years. 

Why I’m fussing about was, the wild cherry trees growing here, now having a full bloom.   What’s wrong ? —– Nothing wrong.     But I just wondering how those cherry trees came here.  What I dubbed Instant flower meadow was created by the local residents on June 2014 simply by spreading the seeds of the meadow plants.   So, I guess that, those more than ten cherry trees, all about the same size, looks the same variety, must be started to germinate here then as the same lot. (= not accidentally brought by the bird as an individual seed.)   So, they all together are now three years old siblings and having the flowers first time. 

In the past, I was thinking that those small trees were the seedlings of the nearby Multilayered Cherry tree.   But now a fraud was exposed !    The bag of the “Meadow Flowers Seeds” were adulterated with cherry seeds = and its right or wrong have to be strongly questioned.  Ever growing those cherry trees wouldn’t go together with the idea of a flower meadow. —– May be closer to the real nature and its cycle of the plant though, those wild cherry were too obstructive to “The Meadow”.  They are not expected to grow in a garden patch of a council housing estate here.

The particular cherry itself was a rather primitive wild cherry.    So, I want to see this flowers have cherry fruits and eaten by the birds.  (then spread to other locations. —– would it really happen ?) 

You might be noticed a phenomenon, that the most of the cherry blossom doesn’t have the siblings under the tree.  First of all, not all of them makes cherry fruits, let alone good to eat fruits. Because of them were created only for the sake of beautiful flowers, and often those variety was infertile.  Especially the most popular cherry in the world, Somei-Yoshino was originated from just one tree discovered in the Somei village in the west of Edo (Tokyo) 150 years ago.    From that tree, all the Somei-Yoshino were artificially propagated by grafting one by one.  ( But now, with the limit of the genetic strength, the Somei-Yoshino is coming to their end, and the nursery had stopped to produce any more Somei-Yoshino, following a direction of  the Japanese Gardening Association.    It was replaced by the next generation “Jindai Akebono” ! —– You can Google this story.)

So, the under the Somei-Yoshino tree, there even a single seedling germinate.

PS : ————————

Now its middle of June.  I found the cherry fruits on that Puzzling Cherry !  (Quite modest size and the taste wasn’t too bad.   🙂

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Fruits – X-lens comparison

Gaudy Lens

Yet another lens comparison of the homemade (and Sony) lenses / Pinhole.  (The link to each lens can be found in the “Related” post “Lens Comparison”)

Sony 30 mm Macro

By the way, this strawberry seemed to come from Spain in its original package — and not only looks gorgeous but also seemingly keeping pretty long shelf life.  BUT almost tasteless !  (Low suger level may keep long life.) —– We buy them with its looks, then become AWARE the taste after. = So, the growers succeeded to create “GOOD product” = good to sell.   A costumer who bought strawberry on a street market never come to Spain and complain to a farmer.

Mono-Pinhole

X4 Pinholes

DD Pinhole B

Gaudy Lens

Left = Sony 30mm Macro Lens, Right = Mag Lens

Close shot by Mag Lens

I’m not implying that the “Good lens” as a good-looking tasteless fruits. —– I’m after good taste = its typical fruity and well matured sweetness.  Otherwise, why we need to by fruits.

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When 3 Artists come together

There was a gathering with 2 Cinematographer / Video Artist = Mr A and Mr G.  Basically Mr A was curious about my homemade lenses etc.

It’s a visual artist’s habit.   They tend to grasp the world with their camera.   Then try to compile a poetry or report kind while using intentionally picked up material in the convenient order (and sometime made-up a false story.)   Since I brought my wire Dragon as well (Demonstration model), Mr A who never seen it kind was rather puzzled of its mechanism. (I guess, video camera’s eye might make small wire structure even harder to comprehend.)     Any how it’s a his business / expertise.  Something funny about this gathering was, since all three were long running artist, and got own style and the concept, each of us was shooting their camera in their own pace, without telling what he IS shooting or aiming what.  (So, when their footage come up, I might incorporate them into this post or make a link to their Post or Youtube.)

Mr A was shooting rather heavy weight video camera and Mr G was using 8 mm film cine camera.  (And I was using Nikkor 24 mm F2 on Sony A7R)

(I have no idea what they were shooting.   😀  )  While going through the same environment, we three may make completely different scope.

I wonder, are they making a kind of human drama ?   We are seasoned enough, to talk on the Film, not on the mouth.   (We no longer believe blah blah but the resulting solid image.)

They were 2 of the ordinally shot though, put them in this way might give you an impression, “We are walking towards the doomed future”.  (= that’s how the trick of the political bias works. “Donate the money to protect the earth, before it become  too late !  😀  )

The area in question was socially rather interesting place though, political Art never work. (Because, the art is the matter of emotion —– emotional power always makes mistake in the social movement.)

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Void and Middle way (2)

As I wrote on the beginning of the previous post, that the Matter all about Buddhism is The Mind.  

But, on this moment, forget about whether the Mind exists or not, can it remain after the death or not, kind of argument. (It seemed, that the writer of Mahayana scriptures made the matter too grand and ostentatious — don’t exaggerate too much. (= It’s a bad habit of the Indian scholar)  It’s just the matter of the Mind and Heart Sir.)  So, just think of your own Mind. We all know, that there are two kind of mind in our brain.   One feels and often perplexed in a depth of our mind (often called your Heart) and the other is thinking a logical answer while giving complicated consideration or justifying excuse.    The former was generated from the old part of the brain, called Lymbic system.   And the other from the brain’s new cortex.   Sound strange though, the neuro scientist found that we are first thinking deep in our subconscious, then convert it to cognitive (in lexical) form second later.   So, technically, the former can be the first impression or your feeling and the later is the Second thought or Consideration.  This mechanism appeared when we see, hear, taste — 5 senses = feel it, then categorize, name it or describe it.  So, this Second thought has been given a Consideration (while referring to the data-bank)  or Judgement whether it was for an answer of Yes or No = like, you have seen it or didn’t see it.

—– But here is a trouble, you might have thought, that you saw it — Did you ?   How you ARE shure.  Even if it was there, next moment, the projector was switched off or changed to the next image or the person is dead.   So, the Buddhism advise you, don’t cling your thought or hard judgement of Yes or No.  Leave the matter to your first impression.   Neither Yes or No, but your intuitive observation = This IS the Middle way.  Not between the Yes or NO, but your own initial intuition.   Because the whole Dharma is moving and keep changing = try to define it in a fixed form is nothing but the our delusion, since the Dharma itself IS VOID.  In fact we too.  (Though, I wouldn’t guaranty your debt disappear on the next moment or your wife let you free tomorrow.  —– World may look the same. 

So, don’t ask me what is the point to become a Buddhist.     😀   )

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