The Time Has Come

I'm still at my office because I have no way to go back home. All the JRE local trains are not working and roads are crowded, although 12 hours have passed since the first quake. JR East doesn't seem to be able to promise even tomorrow's operation recovery according to persons concerned although it has not been reported on TV.
An 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan yesterday. It seems to be the strongest ever recorded in our country and one of the largest anywhere in the last century.
I shared the quake with the most damaged towns and residents although fortunately I'm safely alive in Tokyo. That's why my view of life has been changing drastically in half a day. I'm sure the time has come when I should write a novel.

from Tokyo

Lies Are More Fluent than You Imagine

Lies seem to be spoken more fluently than we may imagine. From prime minister's speech to our daily conversation, we can find a lot of examples.
It might be a superstition that a liar falters. A lie is something created intentionally. A lie often becomes more natural than a truth itself because they can be made of any contents which a liar wants to use.
However what a liar speaks must contain something incongruous because the rhythm or the groove is a little bit different from usual. It is not so hard to point them up.
Of course I don't want to disclose the know-how for detecting lies because I have to use it secretly in my daily life.

Takashi from Tokyo

Don’t Praise Yourself

Lately some of Japanese people don't hesitate to "reward themselves". It seems to be a well-made campaign slogan created by commercialism because it is very convenient phrase to encourage luxury purchasing.
This convenient phrase might be derived from a famous Japanese buzzword, "I want to praise myself", which was told by an Olympic silver medalist of female marathon when she won the second place at the race several years ago.
It might be one of effective prescriptions for depression. But I don't use this phrase for myself because it must ruin me. A man will make easy criteria when he makes it by himself.
I don't want to praise myself until the last minute of my life.

from Tokyo