Playlist for Staten Island Half

I don't visit Staten Island so often. Probably Staten Island Half Marathon is a few opportunity. But, once visiting the island, I enjoy a breathtaking Manhattan view, the beautiful boardwalk, and the community's ballpark.

It is a home of Wu-Tang Clan and Christina Aguilera, and getting more diverse. Earlier this month, TimeOut magazine covered Staten Island, arguing it is "the forgotten borough" no longer, could be a next Brooklyn.

Anyway, here's my playlist for Staten Island Half on October 11.

Yes, it's Christina:
"Feel This Moment (feat. Christina Aguilera)" (Pitbull)
"Moves Like Jagger (feat. Christina Aguilera)" (Maroon 5)
"Ain't No Other Man" (Christina Aguilera)

Of course, can't miss Wu-Tang:
"A Better Tomorrow" (Wu-Tang Clan)
"Bring The Pain (feat. Method Man)" (Missy Elliott)
"Runaway Love Remix (feat. Justin Bieber& Raekwon)" (Kanye West), which samples Wu-Tang Clan's song "Wu-Tang Clan Aint Nuthing Ta F' Whit"

Uh well. With all the above songs, it was still short of a playlist for a couple of hours' run. So, I got some help from NJ!
"Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" (Lauryn Hill)
"Doo Wop (That Thing)" (Lauryn Hill)
"Family Business" (The Fugees)
"Killing Me Softly" (The Fugees)

Bronx

Bronx is the birthplace of HipHop. 

Even though I did not grow up with those classics, it was a delight discovery of some old songs as I decided to make my playlist for NYRR Bronx 10-Mile on September 27.

Some classics (and discovery to me):

"Still Not a Player (feat. Joe)" (Big Pun)

"I'm Not a Player" (Big Pun)

"Step Into a World (Rapture's Delight)" (KRS-One)

"MC's Act Like They Don't Know" (KRS-One)

And well, everyone knows JLo:

"On the Floor (feat. Pitbull)" (Jennifer Lopez)

"Feelin' So Good [Remix] (feat. Big Pun & Fat Joe)" (Jennifer Lopez)

"Love Don't Cost a Thing" (Jennifer Lopez)

Last but not least. The DEY is a relatively new, and I believe under-rated trio. I look forward to listening to more songs by them, but is the group still performing?

"Give You The World" (The DEY)

"I Need You" (The DEY)

"And I Miss You" (The DEY)

Playlist for San Francisco Marathon

I just came back from San Francisco where I ran my second full marathon. The race was very, very tough for all the uphills and downhills, and not so many spectators cheering for us!! But, through the course, I enjoyed the great scenary of the city.

As a part of my preparation, I had some hard time compiling my playlist for the race as well because the only HipHop musician I know from the Bay area is Kero One. So, my playlist starts with his songs.

"When The Sunshine Comes" (Kero One feat. Ben Westbeech)
"In All The Wrong Places" (Kero One)
"Keep Pushin'" (Kero One)
"We Stay Fly" (Kero One feat. Othello & Dminor)
"Remember All That" (Kero One)

But, I couldn't just listen to all his songs for rotation through the race, so I added some of Apple's iPod commercial songs such as:

"Mi Swing Es Tropical" (Nickodemus)
"Hey Mama" (Black Eyed Peas)

And West Coast HipHop and the like for the rest:

"Don't Stay" (Linkin Park)
"Fly With U" (Far East Movement feat. Cassie)
"Young, Wild & Free" (Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa feat. Bruno Mars)

I couldn't achieve my target time, but albeit the hilly course, am proud to made it faster than my first full marathon in Miami!!

Queens Anthems

Tomorrow(Technically today)'s NYRR Five-Borough Series Queens 10K has been delayed for an hour due to the heavy rain forecast. Hope the weather is going to be OK, and all the runners will have a great (and safe) race!

Here are my BGM pick for tomorrow's race. Needless to say, Nicki Minaj, Consequence and Nas are all from Queens.
"I'm The Best" (by Nicki Minaj) - yes, runners, you all are the best!!
"Fly" (by Nicki Minaj feat. Rihanna) - La Guadiana and JFK airports are in the borough. Run like flying!
"Starship" (by Nicki Minaj) - don't miss the some famous scenes from "Men In Black"
"Turn Me On" (by David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj) - This song will turn you on for the race.
"Don't Forget Em" (by Consequence) - don't forget the support of volunteers and spectators. Thanks!!
"Gone" (by Kanye West feat. Consequence and Cam'Ron)
"A Queens Story" (by Nas)
"Memory Lane" (by Nas)
"The Good, The Bad, The Ugly" (by Consequence feat. Kanye West)
"Daughters" (by Nas) - last but not least, Happy Father's Day!!

BK Anthem

Like many others, favorite songs give me 'push' when running.

As running the Central Park Loop every week and listening to the favorite songs over and over, however, I got sick of my 'favorite' songs.

I googled some Brooklyn-related songs before running last weekend's Airbnb Brooklyn Half Marathon, but only ended up with finding very unfamiliar, slow HipHop songs from 1980s and 1990s. So, I decided to create my own playlist for the race, selecting some songs of Brooklyn-born musicians like Jay Z, Talib Kweli, and Mos Def.

Thanks partly to the following songs (and some other songs), I achieved my personal best!

"Brooklyn's Finest" (by Jay Z feat. The Notorious B.I.G.)
"Crazy In Love" (by Beyonce feat. Jay Z)
"Numb / Encore" (by Linkin Park & Jay Z)
"Life Is Good" (DJ Deckstream feat. Mos Def)
"Run This Town" (by Jay Z feat. Rihanna & Kanye West)
"Like That" (by Black Eyed Peas feat. Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Cee-Lo & John Legend)
"Lighters Up" (by Lil' Kim)
"Get By" (by Talib Kweli)
"Young Forever" (by Jay Z feat. Mr. Hudson)
"Empire State Mind" (by Jay Z feat. Alicia Keys)

「病院」がトヨタを超える日

「病院」がトヨタを超える日　医療は日本を救う輸出産業になる！ (講談社プラスアルファ新書) 北原 茂実

日本の政局を、占う。

予測不能な現代社会。

日本の未来、そして政局も混迷を極めているが、歴代首相の動物占い判断をしてみると、なんとなく未来予想図が描けるような、描けないような。けっこう当たっている気がするのは私だけだろうか。

小渕恵三氏（ひつじ）：人恋しい博愛主義者。一本気で穏やかなひつじの男性は、ルールを守る良識派。かなり博識で、駆け引きも得意。凝り性で、興味をもったことはとことん追求。

森喜朗氏（小守熊）：夢見がちな現実主義者。1日中ユーカリの木の上でじっとしている子守熊のように、ぼーっとする時間がなくちゃ駄目。ぼーっとしている間にパワーを蓄える。しかも究極の快楽主義者なので楽しいこと大好き。何をするにも楽しくなくちゃ損と思っている。

小泉純一郎氏（ライオン）：大らかな完璧主義者。特別扱い・目立つのは当たり前。世間体や人目を気にし、常に弱みは見せません。ライオンの男性は、ずばり「体育会系」。ブランドやステイタスにこだわり、出世争いにも猛勇果敢に飛び込みます。ちなみに鳩山由紀夫氏もこれ。

安倍晋三氏（小鹿）：甘えん坊なナチュラリスト。依存心が強く受け身なところをまわりがほうっておけないので甘えていられる役得も。飾り気がなく純粋なところがあるこじかの男性。積極的な押しには欠けるけど、自然と周りから引き立てられてリーダーに祭り上げられたりもします。中曽根康弘氏も小鹿というのはちょっと意外。

福田康夫氏（狼）：個性豊かなマイペース人間。群れをなさない狼のように、人とは違う生き方を常に心がけている。マイペースで何をするにも自己流がポイント。一人の時間や空間を大事にするので変わり者と思われがちだけど、変わっていると言われるのが嬉しかったりも。そう、「あなたとは違うんです。」って言ってました。他に宮沢喜一氏も狼(笑)。

麻生太郎氏（猿）：人マネの上手い猿のように、何事も器用にこなせるけど、じっとしているのが苦手なので起きている間は複数のことを同時進行しちゃうくらい活発に動き回ります。しかもおだてにめちゃめちゃ弱く、褒められるとなんでもやっちゃう。猿の男性は、ユーモアあふれる気さくな人。

菅直人氏（虎）：貫禄のある働き者。悠然とした虎のように慌てず騒がず、落ち着いた雰囲気を持つ。ただ、思い込みが強く自分の考えを曲げなくて迷惑がられるなんてことも。虎男性は、タフな自信家。困っている人に手を差しのべる人情派。即断即決が苦手で、急な出来事にはパニック！橋本龍太郎氏もこれ。

振り返ってみると、納得できるけど、予測可能性を高めるはしないかなあ。

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尚、上記にあたっては、Wikipediaと動物占いを参照させて頂きました。