アバターも笑窪

1月31日（日）快晴

映画「アバター」が世界の興行収入の世界記録を達成。「タイタニックのキャメロン監督が12年を費やした超大作」とか、「完成度の高いＣＧ，３Ｄの作品を大画面で体感して欲しい」と宣伝戦略も巧み。美しい自然と調和した住民の平和な生活に魅せられ、鑑賞後うつ状態に陥る人が多数とか。本当なんですか？「映画から日常生活に戻り、本当に落ち込んだ。映画をもう1度観て絶望感から立ち直った」20世紀フォックス社がほくそ笑んでいます。

妄信と過信の科学

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publicity strategy of “Avatar”
Sun. January 31 : fine

The film, “Avatar” has drawn an all-time box-office record. The publicity strategy is quite cleaver saying such as “A super work that director Cameron of Titanic spent for 12 years” or “We hope you experience the high degree of perfection CD and 3D by big screen”. A lot of people go into depression after seeing the film. Is that true? “When I returned to daily life from the film I completely went into depression. After seeing the film again I could recover”. 20th Century Fox must be gloating over their success.

crazy science

マイホーム無残

1月30日（土）曇時々雨

サイクロンが通過した翌日スーパーに買い物に行ったら、駐車場にオナガテリカラスモドキの巣が落ちていました。強風で椰子の枝が折れて9個の巣が落下。巣の中は空っぽ。椰子の木を見上げると雛たちは葉の上で親鳥に餌をねだっています。巣立ち寸前だったから、葉の高さまで飛び上がれたのでしょう。しかし全員無事に巣立ちが出来るのでしょうか？風雨が強くならないことを祈ります。僕の家ではテラスの家具を居間に取り込んで、特に被害はなし。

オナガテリカラスモドキ

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My home miserable
Sat. January 30 : cloudy occasionally rainy

The day after cyclone passed I went shopping to the supermarket and found the nests of the metallic starling fallen off onto the car park there. 9 nests dropped due to being the palm tree branch snapped off by strong wind. Those nests were completely empty. The chicks were mooching bite to their parent birds on the leaves. Because they were just about to leave their nest they could flew up to the leaves, I assume. Will all of them be able to leave their nest safely? I hope the wind and the rain wouldn’t become any stronger. At my home we had moved all the furniture on the terrace into the living room so nothing has been damaged.

metallic starling

サイクロン来襲

1月29日（金）曇時々雨

ケアンズの夏は雨季で、おまけにサイクロンの季節。サイクロンにはＡＢＣ順に女性の名前がつけられます。先週末から立て続けに2つのサイクロン、ネヴィルとオルガがケアンズ来襲。風雨すさまじい当日、スーパーに奇妙な女性が登場。「ハーイ、私の名前はオルガよ。ご機嫌いかが？」10年豪州に住んでいますが、時々ＯＺが理解不能になることがあります。豪雨の中をスパイダーマンが駆け回っていたとの情報も。（photo by Cairns Post）

サイクロン

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Cyclone attacks
Fri. January 29 : cloudy occasionally rainy

In Cairns summer is the rainy season and also the cyclone season. They name cyclones after some female names in the alphabetical order. Since last weekend we’ve been continuously attacked by two cyclones, Neville and Olga. On the day with furious rain and wind a strange girl appeared in front of the supermarket. “Hi, my name is Olga. How are you?” Although I’ve been in Australia for 10 years I am still not be able to understand OZs fully. I have some other information that Spiderman was running around in heavy rain. （photo by Cairns Post）

cyclone

国旗・国歌論争

1月28日（木）曇

愛国心は国家間の緊張を高め、人種対立を扇動します。小市民は五輪や国際サッカー運動会で溜飲を下げます。ＯＺの多くは英国から乳離れをしたいと考えています。世論調査では立憲君主制維持27%に対し共和制44%。現行国旗支持45%に対し新しい国旗(イギリス国旗なし)の制定27%。現在の国歌に満足と答えた人が36%に対して60%が国歌を替えたいと望んでいます。中東人、インド人、蒙古系アジア人に対する反感も一部でくすぶっています。（photo by Cairns Post）

豪州の国歌

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Argument about national flag and anthem
Thu. January 28 : cloudy

Patriotism increases international tension and instigates ethnic conflicts. The petite bourgeoisie feels great satisfaction by seeing Olympic Games or Soccer World Cup. Most OZs want to be independent from England. According to the public-opinion poll, 27% of the people want to keep constitutional monarchy and 44% support republicanism. 45% want to keep the current national flag and 27% want to change it to the new flag (without English flag). 36% are satisfied with the current national anthem and 60% want to change it. Some OZs have ill feeling toward Middle Easterners, Indians and Mongoloids.（photo by Cairns Post）

Australian national anthem

祝日の飲酒制限

1月27日（水）曇

昨日は国民の祝日。火曜日が祝日になるとＯＺの40%が月曜は病欠。つまり4連休にするためのズル休み。日本の祝日は年間14日ありますが、豪州は10日。そのうちオーストラリア・デー（建国記念日）とアンザック・デー（戦争記念日）はＯＺの愛国心が高揚する日。先人の偉業を称えるために、この日は夕方6時まで酒の販売が禁止。6時を過ぎるとどこのパブも超満員。僕の希望としては、逆に平日はすべて禁酒にして欲しい。

アル中天国

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Drinking restriction on national holidays
Wed. January 27 : cloudy


Yesterday was a national holiday. When Tuesdays are the national holidays 40% of OZs are absent from work because of sickness on Mondays. In other words, they wag off to enjoy 4-day successive holidays. There are 14 national holidays in Japan but 10 days in Australia. Two of them, Australia Day and Anzac Day are awful days because OZ’s patriotism is highly uplifted then. To praise the forerunners’ great work selling liquor is prohibited until 6:00pm on those days. After 6:00pm every pub is crowded beyond capacity. To tell the truth, I want to ban drinking all weekdays on the contrary.

alcoholism paradise

オーストラリア・デー

1月26日（火）雨

日本の「建国記念の日」は、2670年前（縄文時代晩期）に神武天皇が即位した日とか。豪州建国記念日は1788年１月26日に英国から初めて囚人を連れてアーサー・フィリップ提督がシドニーに到着。囚人778人と、海兵隊およびその家族の総勢1200人。囚人の多くがロンドンのスラムの窃盗犯でした。18世紀半ばまで総勢15万人の囚人が送り込まれ植民地建設に従事。多くのアボリジニが犠牲になりました。

200年前の刑務所

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Australia Day
Tue. January 26 : cloudy

It is said that Japanese National Foundation Day is originally the day when Emperor Jinmu ascended the throne 2670 years ago (Late Jomon period). Australian National Foundation Day is originally the day when Admiral Arthur Philip arrived in Sydney from England with the convicts on January 26 in 1788. The troop had 1200 people in total including 778 convicts, the sea soldiers and their families. Most of the convicts were the thieves in the slum districts of London. A total of 150,000 convicts were kept sending to establish the colony until middle 18th century and many aborigines were sacrificed as well.

jail 200 years ago

ミュージカル「オリバー」

1月25日（月）曇

57年の歴史を誇るケアンズ市民ミュージカルの第86回公演。期待通りの素晴らしい舞台。入場料は2800円。映画「クリスマス・キャロル」と同じくディッケンズ原作。18世紀初頭、産業革命により格差が拡大した英国での児童虐待から立ち直る少年の物語。同じ時期に貧困から盗みを働いたり、政府に楯突いた人々が英国から豪州に囚人として送られ、豊かな国を築いたことがＯＺの共感を呼ぶのでしょう。明日は豪州の建国記念日です。

ミス・サイゴン

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Musical “Oliver”
Mon. January 25 : cloudy

We went to see the 86th performance of Cairns Civic Musical that has its 57-year history. It was the splendid stage as we had expected. The entrance fee was $35. The author of its original work is Dickens, as well as the film “The Christmas Carol”. The story is about the boy who is abused and recovers in the early 18th century, the era of widening disparity due to the Industrial Revolution in England. At the same time there were people who were poor and stole things and revolted to the government. They have sent to Australia from England and built this rich country. It must arouse OZ’s sympathy. Tomorrow is Australia Day.

Miss. Saigon

選択の物語「アバター」

1月24日（日）雨

「タイタニック」のジェームズ・キャメロン監督の３Ｄ映画が全世界でヒット中。先週ケアンズでも封切られたので見に行きましたが、豪州で初めて満員の映画館を体験。ＣＧ映像の美しさは秀逸。時は21世紀、大自然と調和した生活を送るある衛星での希少鉱物採掘「アバター計画」に参加した元海兵隊員は、現地人とともに環境破壊動物の地球人と戦う運命に。開拓者と戦うインデアンや、捕鯨船と戦う小船を彷彿させます。資源漁り大国の中国では上映制限も。

タイタニック

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A story of selection, “Avatar”
Sun. January 24 : rainy

The 3D film, “Avatar” directed by James Cameron of “Titanic” has been hitting all over the world. Being also premiered in Cairns I went to see it and I experienced to be in the crowded theater in Australia for the first time. The beauty of computer-graphic images is superb. The story takes place in the 21th Century. The ex-marine who attends “Operation Avatar” turns to fight with earthmen, the environmental destructors. It reminds us of American natives combat with the pioneers or the small ship that fights with the whale catchers. There has been some restriction of showing at the cinemas in China, the big resource hunting powers in the world.

Titanic

熱帯枝豆とフェニックス・サラダ

1月23日（土）曇

鳳凰木の豆を鞘ごと1口大に切ります。小さじ1杯の食塩を入れたたっぷりのお湯を沸かし、3分間茹で、冷水で冷やし、笊で水を切ります。塩で揉んで盛り付ければ熱帯枝豆の完成。マヨネーズで和えればフェニックス・サラダの出来上がり。鳳凰木の鞘1本で2種類のメニューの1人前。調理時間は5分。鳳凰木の花１厘を添えると季節感溢れ、手軽で経済的。色合いも歯ざわりも申し分ない。味は一口で言うと、青臭苦不味い！

オーガニック素材

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Tropical boiled beans and phoenix salad
Sat. January 23 : cloudy

Cut the pod of Royal Poinciana into bite-size. Boil plenty of water with a tea-spoon-full of salt, boil it for 3 minutes, cool it down in cold water and drain off the water. After sprinkling salt and squeezing arrange it on a plate and tropical boiled peas is made. If you dress it with mayonnaise, that makes phoenix salad. With only one pod of Royal Poinciana you can cook 2 kinds of dishes for one person. The cooking time is 5 minutes. Adding a blossom of flower of Royal Poinciana you can enjoy some sense of the season. It’s quite handy and economical. It’s colorful and crunchy, too. It tasted green-smelling, bitter and disgusting.

organic ingredience

開かずの門

1月22日（金）雨

開かずの門
エスプラネード（海岸通り）は南北に800ｍ。北の突き当りには頑丈な鉄の門。ケアンズでは過去最高値で取引された謎の豪邸。新聞報道によると購入者はニュージーランドの投資家グループで、購入額は9億円とか。高い塀の向こうの広い敷地には椰子の木が茂り、南太平洋風のコテッジが数棟見えます。中で何をやっているのか？ところが昨日その門が開けゴマ状態。4人のガードマンがいて門の向こうは樹木が邪魔をして奥まで見通せません。

謎の豪邸

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Unopened gate
Fri. January 22 : fine

Esplanade goes 800m from north to south. On its northern end there is a solid iron gate. That is a mysterious mansion that was traded with the highest price in Cairns’ history. According to the newspapers article the buyer was the investment group from New Zealand and the price was $9M. You can see a lot of palm trees and several South Pacific style cottages in the spacious site behind the high fence. What do they do in there? As a matter of fact the gate was being kept open yesterday. There were several guards and the trees were blocking, so I couldn’t see inside.

mysterious mansion

モーア・ストリート

1月21日（木）曇時々雨

エスプラネード（海岸通り）に平行に南北に700ｍ伸びる2車線の道路。道路の両側には沢山のサービス・アパートメントが並びます。僕の住むＶＵＥもその1つですが、開発業者がアパートを建てて各戸を売りに出します。購入者は自分で住むか、他人に賃貸するか、ホテル会社に賃貸するかを選択。ホテル会社では、いわゆるコンドミニアムとして観光客を宿泊させます。各敷地が大きいので、緑が多くて静かな通りです。

逆から見ると・・・

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Moore Street
Thu. January 21 : cloudy occasionally rainy

It’s the 2-lane road that goes for 700m from north to south running parallel to Esplanade. There are a lot of service apartments on the both sides of the street. My VUE is one of them and the developer builds the apartment and sells its units. The buyers can decide whether they want to live in the unit, rent it other people, or rent it to some hotel companies. The hotel rents the units as the “condominium” to the tourists. As each site is quite spacious the street is quiet with full of green.

looking from opposite side...

ドラゴン・フルーツ

1月20日（水）曇時々雨

僕の朝の散歩道は正門からモーア・ストリートを500ｍ南下、丘の林を500ｍ登り、階段を降りた海岸通りを往復2ｋｍ歩いて、裏門に戻るという3ｋｍコース。丘の林では色々の鳥がさえずり、野生種と園芸品種の植物が共生しています。バナナ、パパイヤ、グアバ、レモンなどの果樹も実をつけています。ドラゴン・フルーツの幼木もあり、花を1輪だけ咲かせていました。青物市場にドラゴン・フルーツが並び始めました。

ヒモサボテン

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Dragon fruit
Wed January 20 : cloudy occasionally rainy

My morning walk starts from the front gate of our apartment, goes for 500m to the south along Moore Street, climb for 500m through the hill forest, descends steps onto Esplanade to go and return for 2km and return to the back gate. It’s a 3km long course. There are several kinds of birds singing, and the wild plants and garden plants are living together in the hill forest. Bananas, papayas, guavas, lemons and some other trees bear fruits. I found a young tree of dragon fruit with only one flower. Dragon fruits have just started to be displayed at the green market.

string cuctus

鳳凰木の実

1月19日（火）曇時々雨

先週末の青物市場で鳳凰木の実を売っていました。東南アジアでは食用にするそうですが、いかにも不味そう。そんなものお金を払って買うまでもありません。僕の家の周囲にも花も咲いていれば、実も沢山垂れ下がっています。1粒食べたら歯ごたえは悪くはないけど、青臭くて不味い。鞘のほうも食べられるそうですが、やっぱり不味い。酒飲家なら枝豆やソラマメ代わりにはなるかもしれません。

火炎樹

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Seeds of Royal Poinciana
Tue. January 19 : cloudy occasionally rainy

I saw the seeds of Poinciana were being sold at the green market last week. They are eaten in South East Asia but they don’t seem to taste so good. You never want to pay for such stuff. You can see a lot of Poinciana flowers and the seeds near my apartment. I have tried one of the beans. It was pretty crunchy but rather unsavory with the smell of grass. They say the pods are also edible but they are not so good. Good drinkers might be able to enjoy it as substitute for boiled soybeans or broad beans.

flame tree

デング熱とマラリア

1月18日（月）快晴

熱帯雨林にバードウオッチングに行ったら、駐車場の看板に付近に住む野鳥の一覧表と蚊の一覧表が並んでいました。掲示されていた蚊の種類は72種類。現在は雨季なので連日のように夜間雨が降り、蚊が大量発生。昨年はケアンズでデング熱に500人が罹患し、1人が死亡。ネッタイシマカが媒介。マラリアは世界で年間5億人が罹患し、100万人が死亡。ハマダラカが媒介。どちらもワクチンがないので防虫スプレーでガードするしかありません。

雨上がり

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Dengue fever and malaria
Mon. January 18 : fine

When I went to the tropical rain forest for bird watching I found the list of the kinds of wild birds and mosquitoes that live around there on the sign at the parking area. There were 72 kinds of mosquitoes on the list. It has been raining at night everyday during the rainy season and has caused the plague of mosquitoes. 500 people were affected and one person was killed by dengue fever in Cairns last year. Yellow-fever mosquitoes mediate it. 500,000,000 people are affected and 1,000,000 are killed by malaria a year in the world. The anopheles transmits it. There is no vaccination against them so guarding it with the insect repellent spray is the only way to prevent the infection.

fine weather after the heavy rain

ボーエン・マンゴ（ケンジントン・プライド種）

1月17日（日）快晴

今年はマンゴが大豊作。ケアンズでは庭にマンゴを植えている家庭が多く、食べ切れないマンゴをゴミバケツへ投入。ゴミバケツが重過ぎてゴミ回収車のピックアップが持ち上がらなくなる事故が頻発。青物市場にマンゴは数種類並びます。ＯＺが珍重するのがボーエン・マンゴ。1個500ｇ前後。10個入りの箱入りの最高級品が1200円。僕は1個1ｋｇ以上あるR2E2やペリカン・マンゴも好き。マンゴはウルシ科の植物なのでかぶれる人もいます。

ゴミ収集車

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Bowen mango　(Kensington Pride species)
Sun. January 17 : fine

We had the bonanza crop of mangos this year. There are a lot of homes that plant mango trees in their back yards and people threw away mangos that are more than they could eat into the garbage bins. The bins were too heavy for the rubbish vehicles to pick them up and that has caused frequent accidents. Several different kinds of mangos are displayed at the green markets. Among them Bowen mangos are highly esteemed by OZs. They weigh around 500g each. The finest ones that are packed in 10 a box are $15. I also like R2E2s that weigh more than 1kg each or pelican mangos. Mangoes are from vanish tree family, so some people get a rash.

garbage truck