Guy's Books and Thoughts

Perhaps artists and authors did not intend a pro-life message, but
sometimes what comes out in their works addresses such themes.

I remember hearing the late theologian Francis Schaefer speaking and
saying that a magazine stated that life began at conception. But then
this magazine added the question: �Is it a person?� Apparently
someone was looking for a loophole to allow for abortion.
In his own way Dr. Seuss answered the question in his picture book
HORTON HEARS A WHO by stating the a person is a person not matter what
size. And yes Embryo�s may be small and not visible to the human eye,
but that does not deny their personhood and humanity. Dr. Seuss may
not have been pro-life, but he may have unwittingly affirmed the
personhood of the unborn by stating that a person is a person no
matter what size.

Another work, which to me, addresses life issue and Embryonic Stem
Cell �Research� in a round about way is the Japanese manga (graphic
novel or comic) BUSO RENKIN. This is about alchemy. On the one side
is a sickly schoolboy, Koshaku, whose ultimate end is to become
superhuman. But once he becomes superhuman, he has to eat people to
survive. On the other side are alchemist warrior Tokiko and her
accidental recruit Kazuki.. Tokiko and Kazuki try to stop him. In
the big confrontation, Kazuki fights Koshaku to save Tokiko who is
bedridden and facing extinction some distance away. If memory serves
me correctly., Tokiko addresses Kosahku by cell phone telling him that
no one wants to die, but that taking the lives of other people is
wrong. I recently talked to a physician, who said he would do
whatever it takes to save a life, within the bounds of morality. In
other words killing other people to save a patients life is out of the
question. Perhaps society has chosen to deny the humanity of the
unborn.

But if you think about it , Embryonic Stem Cell �Research� and Fetal
tissue �Research� really boil down to killing persons to prolong the
life of another. For a person is still a person even if we cannot see
them fully formed. A person is still a person even if they are old or
disabled.

Guy

I believe the name of the show is called NODAME CANTABILE. Wikipedia
has a description of the drama and it looks like what I saw. This
drama was based on the Japanese manga (comic) by the same name. It has
been translated into English and published by Del Ray.

Guy

(Please note this is my interpretation of a popular Japanese pop song
about six years ago. Of course I could be wrong, but one of the people
I consulted, agreed with me generally about my interpretation.)

Ayumi Hamasaki's (Ayu's) song M had a certain appeal to me even though
I do not speak Japanese. I did get the video of the song and looked
at the translation. The video was filmed at St Patrick's church in
Yokohama. At the end Ayu said something about praying that this time
it will be true love. I asked a translator (Grace Anderson) if
the "Maria,� being petitioned in the song, was Mary the mother of
Jesus. The answer was "yes," because in Japan, Mary is known
as "Maria."

The video has some interesting contrasts. It starts out with Ayu at
church dressed in black singing "Maria there is someone I should
love." The lyrics are very picturesque. She talks of relationships
blossoming all over the city and the curtains going up, but at the
same time relationships ending and the curtains coming down. In the
video one sees the church doors opening and particles of light coming
into the church. The particles of light become Ayu in a white wedding
dress, with long hair. A contrast to Ayu in black, with short hair..
Ayu in black (with short hair) is hoping to be the Ayu in the white
wedding dress (with long hair). The video comes full circle with the
image of the Ayu in white "dissolving" and at the end we see Ayu in
black. So the video comes full circle.

In summary the video seems to be a story of a girl, having faced
disappointments in love, seeking this time for a lasting love. I am
not sure if Ayu in the song was supposed to be a good Catholic girl or
simply someone seeking love and just happening to make that petition
in a Catholic church. The reason why I say that is in Japan many
people have a Shinto birth rite, a "Christian" wedding and a Buddhist
funeral. In other words, when facing a problem, people will reach out
to anything for help especially if there is a �patron saint,� god or
kami to address the specific problem. Of course this behavior is not
unique to Japan. People all over the world become �religious� in a
pinch.

The dvd can be ordered from Kinokuniya. An interpretation or
translation can be found
at Nick Tsurikov's site (interpretation) www.eneabba.net/ayu or Grace
Anderson's site (translation) at www.megchan.com

Guy

There is a new Japanese drama, on Sunday's at 9:30, which
unfortunately is not subtitled .

From what I can tell it seems to be about a Japanese
music student. When he was a little boy, he visited
Prague. Interestingly enough the boy uses English
in Prague.

In one scene he is found drunk outside his room. A
lady runs across him. Since she calls him "senpai."
He must be an upperclassman and she a lower classman.
He wakes up sitting in her room. He finds her playing the piano.
Her room is a mess.

Later I think a music teacher has him coach this female student on
Mozart on the piano, which he does not really want to do. In one
instance he throws some music at her. Another time, he whacks her on
the head.

I also recognize a vocal piece song by another female character which,
I'm sure was in the film Amadeus.

I understand that there was a Bach fad in Japan and some Japanese
have become Christians as a result of his work. Cal told me that he
met a Japanese man in Scotland, who became a Christian due to Bach's
work. But some will try to say Bach was a secularist and did not write
religious music in the last 20 years of his life. (of course that
claim could be bogus). It is a bit interesting or puzzling, because if
Bach, was a secularist and not a Christian, why have people become
Christians? Was it accidental? (o.k. I admit if people become Roman
Catholic because of Ayumi Hamasaki's "M" or "Free and Easy" it would
be accidental, but Bach is probably a different matter). Fads last for
only so long. I don't know if Mozart is the next fad. I wonder if a
number of Japanese will decided to become freemasons because of
Mozart? Would they wax nostalgic for WW II if Wagner becomes the fad?
Well, I hope Bach's influence will still have an impact on Japan.

Perhaps the musical work of the "Song of Survival" people may have
an impact on Japan. The book "Song of Survival" is about how
some Dutch, British and Asian ladies in a Japanese prison camp formed
a vocal orchestra and recreated works of classical music with their
voices. It is a bit ironic that Sony, a Japanese company has promoted
their musical work. I suppose one of the purposes of "Song of
Survival" was to build bridges of across culture.

Even though I don't understand Japanese, I think I can get some
understanding by watching the action. I guess knowing a few words
does help. I wish they had subtitled this program.

Guy

P.S. This may turn out to be the second non subtitled Japanese drama
I watch. The first one, I saw was TO HEART. It was interesting to see
what information one can glean just by looking at the action. But
believe me I wish it was subtitled