"SouthSide" (by Common feat. Kanye West)

Back to Chicago again.

The sky's so high.

The weather is windy and chilly, so I headed south. A bit.

Double Chi (Chinatown in Chi-City)

To my surprise, Obama color is less dominant than I expected.

ODD...

Rather, more Michelle, Michelle and Michelle.

A new biography of Michelle Obama

The city is colored more by autumn than by the Obama campaign.

Perfect autumn color

Drinkability of this water fountain? I'm sure it's not BudLight, though.

I also stopped by the University of Chicago to congratulate Dr. Nambu, one of this year's Nobel prize winners, but couldn't find him.

"Rise & Fall" (Craig David feat. Sting)

Last Friday a piece of USA Today article provided me an eye-opening view for watching this year's World Series. Coincidentally, the rivalry of the World Series has some similarities with that of the U.S. presidential election next month (but in only a week now!).

Tampa Bay Rays's General Manager Andrew Friedman is 31 years old, and Manager Joe Maddon 54. Owner Stuart Sternberg, 48, and President Matt Silverman, 32, are both young and former investment bankers from Goldman Sachs, and Friedman, a former Bear Sterns analyst, it's no wonder this team is good at data analysis and scouting. Needless to say, they constantly use Blackberries.

On the other hand, the Philadelphia Phillies's management team is "old-school baseball guys" of General Manager Pat Gillick, 71, and Manager Charlie Manuel, 64. The Phillies was founded in 1883 while Rays in 1998.

All look familiar? Yes, the Phillies is just like John McCain, 72, and the Rays Barack Obama, 47. They even have a similar twist (read the article for the details) such that Obama appointed experienced, 65-year-old Joe Biden for his running mate while Sarah Palin, 44, for McCain's running mate.

Will the old-school guys survive as life expectancy gets higher? We will see those results as early as today or in a week, but this is a kind of dynamism America has, I believe. What about Japan? Well, its politics seems hopeless, but as appointing Tatsunori Hara, 50, for the manager, there is ray of light for the team Japan of the World Baseball Classic.

After all, as somebody said, baseball is national pastime. And hopefully international one.

Global Festa 2008

Hope you didn't miss this year's Global Festa Japan at Hibiya Park.

Embassies, NGOs, international organizations and some CSR-conscious corporations - over 200 in total - were present, introducing their countries and activities, selling foods, drinks and souvenirs, or recruiting volunteers and job applicants. It's always fun to sneak around at such an event, but this year I feel very lucky to be there when a panel discussion was held.

It was a discussion of four panelists. They were:
Misako Konno, an actress and a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador
Masato Kitera, Director-General, International Cooperation Bureau from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Yukie Osa, a representative of Association for Aid and Relief Japan, a NGO, and
Nobuhiko Hanasato, a professor of Nagoya University

Introducing how JICA volunteers were helping the people in Africa, what the Japanese government is doing by holding TICAD and what NGO frontline is like, they discussed what and how Japanese can contribute for global good. The discussion was resourceful and insightful, but Ms. Osa's story was especially inspiring. She quit her job at an foreign financial institution to join AAR. Her salary was down by two thirds!! I can't make such a move, but the stories and discussion of "Fantastic Four" gave me an opportunity to think about how I can take part in an NGO activity and how to build my career.

I would like to thank all the four panelists, but above all, my big applause to an NHK anchor, Aiko Doden. As a moderator, she tossed insightful questions and guided sometimes-Möbius-loop-like discussion. Her job was splendid!!

a US$10 T-shirt for feeding North Korean refugees in China

For more details, check Life Funds for North Korean Refugees.


By the way, it was too bad that I wasn't qualified for this year's ODA monitor to Africa, which Ms. Konno also joined.

"Eat to Live" 2 (by Talib Kweli)

Wow, so it turned out General Electric is a next dish for Warren Buffett.
$3billion.

But, it's not his "Last Supper", is it?
It seems too early to have a cup of coffee and dessert of the meal.