ristorante paradiso

Sep 6, 2007

I bought a comic titled Ristorante Pardiso presented by Natsume Ono yesterday.

Wow, I loved it a lot.
What a heart-warming story, it begins with an Italian girl named Nicoretta visiting her mother for the first time in many years. Her mother left her at her grand parents' when she was a little girl. Her mother wanted to get married with this guy who said would not marry a woman who has a child. So her mother desided not to tell she has one. Nicoretta trys to disclose to the step-father that she is a daughter of hers...
Things happens and turns and blah, blah..., and then in the end people become happy! (Please read! I recommend it to you rather than read my dull synopsis of the whole story here!)

one of the sources I love about this comic are characters. People in this story are all charming. They each have a unique character but no one is mean or ugly. I am amazed the way the auther discribes each people so one-of-a-kind yet charming.

I am sure I will buy other comics ono-san wrote!

終戦のローレライ

Jul 28, 2005

I have just finished reading Lorelei of the End of the War, a novel about a submarine and World War Ⅱ. Have you heard of this sci-fi novel? I think you have. I heard this story was made into a movie last year. At least you might have heard of the title.

It was right before I went to Rocky Mountains with Yoshi that Nuk-Nuk lended me the book. The book was unbelievably thick with pages full of tiny small words in it. It is the first half of two serial books. However, it didn't stop me from reading. I thirsted to read something written in Japanese at the time. Plus, I had happened to know the movie and been interested in it.
I didn't borrow the second half and came back to Japan afterward. So I went to Book Off, the second hand book store, and bought it a week ago.

I found the novel absorbing.
In fact, I finished reading in the middle of the travel. You know, I was in famous Rocky Mountains, where there are lots'n lots to see. I was walking all the day everyday. I was tired enough to get deadly sleep every night. Even so the interesting story kept me awake for a couple of hours to read.

It was in the end of WWⅡ, there was a legendary submarine nicknamed Sea Ghost. No one knows where she came from but everyone was afraid to fight with her. Unlike regular submarine, she has huge cannons on her back and, more importantly, Lorelei System. With the System, she swims in the sea freely while other regular subs were groping around with their sonars.
This story was about people related to the submarine.
Finally they each find their own reason to be. They find why they live, what for.

Actually, there are as many cruel scenes as other war stories. Even though it is just a novel, the author was very witty that I could easily picture those scenes. It was awful when I read the most cruel scene after midnight, I hardly went to sleep. Those scenes came back again and again every time I closed my eyes.

However, because of that, human dramas of the people in this story became more flesh. People have to live with inconsistence, dilemma, regret and feeling of guilt. I empathized with them and felt like I also found some kind of answer to what I live for.

If you like those kind of human drama, this novel is a must to read. ( If you don't mind the cruel scenes...) I absolutely recommend it to you!
I wanted to see the movie too but I don't know now... I heard some characters were cut out or changed into different personality. As a fan of the original story, I may not be satisfied. ( I can't believe Fritz is not in the movie!! He is such a key person, isn't he?!)

『終戦のローレライ』（上）（下）読破しましたー。
（もう古いの？今はイージスの時代なの？）
いやぁ～おもしろかった！！！
最後は泣きましたー。
（セオリー通りのストーリー展開だったとは言え！）

カナダから帰ってくるちょっと前に、ぬくぬくから上巻を借りて、
おもしろくて一気に読んでしまったですよ。んでも
時間無くて、下巻が借りれずじまいに帰国。。
先日、某B○○k ○ff（伏せ字になってねえ）で買って、またも一気読み。
…と言っても読破までに１週間近くかかったかな；

その存在自体は、去年？Yahoo!のCMかなんかで見たことはあって、
潜水艦映画とか割と好きなので（U571とかね)、興味はあったのですよー。
戦争ものって、幽霊ものとかなんかよりもより現実的だから
（ていうか実際起こった過去だから、か。）怖くて好きじゃないんだけど、
でも、そういう深刻な状況における人間ドラマには目がなくて。。

このストーリーの好きなところは
いい男がわんさか登場するところです（いやいや。。）
生きるとは何か、死ぬとは何か、そんなことに懊悩する
いい男（またか；）たちの身悶えする姿が（いやいや！）
なんて言うか、自分にもある迷いの、
ある種の答えを示してくれたりする。
なるほど、っていっぱい思いました。
訳分かりませんね。。ごめんなさい。
しかしまじ泣きましたわ。
マスカラ流れ落ちてくまどりになったったー。。

しかしパウラ・エブナーの感知能力、私好みです。。えへへ。
絹見艦長のイメージ、私には堤真一でした。
（多分“真一”つながり？
いやでも古いけど、Good Luck!の香田キャプテンのイメージで。。）
でも映画では浅倉なんですね。それも似合うかも

the five love languages

Mar 25, 2005

I would like to introduce you to a book called The Five Love Languages.
This is the book for those who want to have better relationship with your partner.

The first year of Yoshi's and my marriage was disaster.
I know it was just accumulation of each other's pet-peeves that both Yoshi and I kept setting off.
We started our marriage out of Japan. All public rules in Canada were totally different. Yoshi started his hectic graduate school life and he counted on me to deal with everything about our lives. But I was a stranger here. I had totally no idea about anything!! I was just, ... freaked out because I had no one else to ask for help. Can you believe it that we didn't even know how to activate our telephone line??!!!
It felt like everything was just going wrong.
That gave us extremely hard time and made us harsh to each other.

I didn't regret marrying him but everything was just like in the dark that I couldn't see anything for sure.
Yoshi was the only one I was able to rely on at the time but he didn't have room to take care of me. He was just so busy getting used to studying in English. I always felt sad and on my own because all Yoshi said were followed by a tsking noise with no smile at all. I was dying for the feeling to be loved. I felt like it would never come again.
And because of that I stated above, I didn' t have room to take care of Yoshi either. I was always nagging, complaining and yelling at him. I could do nothing but bother him...
I had no idea what to do...

And then I found this book.
It was an eye-opener to me.

According to the author, the ways people feel to be loved were as different as languages spoken all over the world. To communicate with people from abroad, you should learn their language first, right? It is the same. In order to show your love to your partner, you should learn his/her way of love. Otherwise, he/she would never find that you love him/her no matter how desperate you express your love in your way. The author calls it love languages.
That's what is happening to many married couples who are on the verge of divorce. They surely love each other but just don't know one another's love language. For instance, you express your love by giving gifts and bunches of flowers. Your partner feels unloved because you hardly listen and talk to her. In this case, your love language is giving gifts and her love language is quality time with you. You should speak her love language.

In order to maintain long term relationship, the principle is crucial.
You don't always have to be selfless. Just you look at your partner a little more closer. You will learn how he/she is pleased.

I learnt a lot from this book.
It was quite easy to understand because a lot of case studies were introduced along with the author's idea. His main occupation is a marriage counselor so every case study is close to home. They all are likely to happen.

I don't think I have realized all what the author said in this book yet. But it is for sure that this book will be the compass when I am lost in marriage.
This book is not just for married couples but all of you who want to get along with somebody.

The Five Love Languageという本がですv
結婚カウンセラーが書く、結婚生活バイブル～。
愛情表現は人それぞれで、著者はそれを言語に例えています。
例えば、英語圏の人には英語で話さないと通じませんよね？
それと同じで、たとえ自分は思いきり愛を表現してると思っていても、表現方法が違う為に、相手には全然伝わってないってことが沢山あるのです。
「私のこと全然わかってくれない！！」
夫婦やカップルのけんかに良くあるセリフ（笑
愛されてるなぁ～って感じるポイントがずれてるからなんだそうですょ。
この本は、じゃあどうやって相手に分かるように愛情表現すればいいの？ってコトを、カウンセラーらしく実際の具体例を挙げて、めっちゃ分かりやすく説明してあるのですv
離婚率の多い現代に、誰もが必読！の本だと思います。
おすすめ！
もちろん結婚してない人にも～！！
子育てに悩んでるパパママにも良い！（子育てバージョンの本も出てるらしいですょ）
良い人間関係を築く為にも必読必読！！

The Da Vinci Code

This is the book I am reading now.

I believe most of you know the title The Da Vinci Code, the world best seller mystery about ancient secrets and Christianity.

I got this book just out of curiosity having no enthusiasm for mystery or religion. So its cost of C$28.80- (?2,600-) was pricey enough to make Yoshi nag about. But, you know, the regular price was C$48.00-. C$28.80- is quite a good deal for a less than one year-old book.

Oh, I need to mention this. My book is a special illustrated edition which published late last year.
I heard that, after the first edition made a million-seller hit, tons of people had inquired about paintings that were told in the story, and historical places and buildings that the story took place. So the author figured that people would be satisfied if the book had pictures in it.
... Yes, he was right! They helped me a lot with picturing the scenes more clearly!

I am a slow reader, by the way.
I have been in Toronto for almost two years and five novels were only the books I have finished so far. It took me almost a year for the first novel. Surely because I wasn't quite capable of reading it.
However, there is something about The Da Vinci Code!
I found it absorbing. I hardly stop reading because I always want to know what happens next! Not only the story-line but also every details about world's famous paintings in Louvre museum and Christianity with historical background.
It is so interesting!

This is my sixth novel written in English but I thought I should have chosen some kind of mystery for my first. Mystery needs elaborate story-line and unpredictable ending. English sentences in those novels should be rhythmical and straight-forward and that makes its readers stick to the story.
I definitely recommend mystery to those who read an English book for the first time!

... The first two of mine were kind of love comedy. They were also quite easy to understand but not interesting enough to stay reading. They put me asleep within 3 pages. The next three books were written by Stephen King, the popular horror novelist. I found his way of writings too witty to get what he exactly wanted to describe. Recommended for those whose English skills are advanced. ... Why, then, did I buy his novels several times? Because I like his movies such as Stand By Me, Misery, Apt Pupil and The Green Mile.
Anyway,

The Da Vinci Code rules!
Let's check it out!!

ダ・ビンチコードという小説、知ってますか？
世界的ヒットを記録した小説だし、日本語訳本もでてるし、
みんな知ってるよね？
遅ればせながら、今読んでます。
ハードカバーのイラストエディションを買ったのだけど
…高いのに奮発して買ってよかった。
むちゃむちゃおもしろいんですよv　
そして、有名絵画やヨーロッパの建物などのイラスト入りだから
本文で説明されてることがよ～く分かりますv
絵が無かったら多分、図書館とかで調べないとよくわかんないかもと思いました。