fourtotheleft

Latest Posts by fourtotheleft

I feel too much, I talk too much, I’m awkward too much, I’m straight up weird.

But somehow I’ve been given a good group of friends around the world who are there for me in different and important ways. And though they might not be there forever as I hope, I’m trying very hard to appreciate what we have now.

Which just amplifies the feeling, talking, awkward, and weird. But I hope if we are truly friends, they will understand me and just accept me.

Hope your weekend is Ba-na-na POTATO fantastic!

A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself.

Abraham Maslow

Silence is just as important as music.

Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it.

John Lennon

From the brilliant mind that brought you Canadian Please, this summer’s internet smash hit Circle Foods, and the infamous Comic Sans Song, comes this amazing song, Konkai! Seriously gunarolla, why so awesome?

Hope you all check out his other videos - I’m sure there will be something to put a smile on your face!

…when I saw so many people blaming a girl who drank so much that she passed out and was raped multiple times after when I commented on the story on my facebook page this morning.

I had to issue this statement that I think should really be taken to heart:

Im super disappointed in so many of…

I know a lot of people have seen this already, but it's worth seeing again. Have a listen to KP's pep talk, and have a good Friday.

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.

- Robert Frost

Don't stop just because you don't know where the road takes you. The very reason you must keep going is because you don't know what lies ahead.

I can be almost terminally grief-stricken because things are so dire, but at the same time, there's a real lightheartedness about just the recoverability of life, of how things change, how they're not the same, ever again.

- Alice Walker

The topic of suicide is near and dear to me. Please watch this documentary, Saving 10000, and reblog if you can. Suicide prevention awareness is extremely lacking here (Japan), and if watching this means that one person - Japanese or other - rethinks their decision and gets some help then it is worth it. If you are thinking about suicide now, please talk to someone. If you don't have anyone to talk to, please keep trying until you find someone who will listen. Don't give up on yourself. There is hope and a purpose for you. The video is subtitled in Japanese and English. この動画は「Saving 10000」というドキュメンタリーです。日本人の自殺についてのです。皆さん、見てくださいませんか。自殺の予防するためも、reblogしてください。このドキュメンタリーを見たら、自殺しないようにしようと思ってくる人がいるかもしれませんので、お願いします。そして、今動画を見ている方の中で自殺をしようと思っている人もいるなら、誰かに話をかけて悩みを相談してください。誰も聞いてくれないと思ったら、負けずに悩みが聞こえる人を探してください。自分のことをあきらめないでください。あきらめるのはまだ早いです。生活と人生はどんな状況でも、あなたの存在は大切です。あなたの人生の希望も目的もあります。 動画は日本語と英語の字幕があります。

I postpone death by living, by suffering, by error, by risking, by giving, by losing.

Anais Nin

When will you shine with me? Please I'm begging! Where are my, where are my, Where are my soldiers at?

I've been a big fan of Yuca for a few years now, and their new single fits the theme this week, so here enjoy! You can find them on facebook, too. Also, congrats to me for the 101th post today! I hope this blog has left some of you inspired, made some of you pause and think, or made someone open to some new ideas. I hope it continues to do so for another 101 posts -- if I can make it there!

Thanks for following until now!

I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.

Anne Frank (via thelifeguardlibrarian)

A shadow is unique to each person and yet indistinguishable from another. Likewise, everyone is different, but we are all still human.

These things will destroy the human race: politics without principle, progress without compassion, wealth without work, learning without silence, religion without fearlessness and worship without awareness.

Anthony de Mello

I feel like this is such an important and yet rarely discussed social problem in Japan. As someone now working in Japan, who was raised in a culture which actively promotes tolerance and understanding, it can be really difficult to deal with a lack of recognition that this is not just a "foreign" problem, but that it happens in Japan on a daily basis. Change is slow in Japan, but issues like this need to be made a priority for Japan to become a better functioning member of the global community and just a better country. It's sad that despite its reputation for politeness and innovation, Japan has fallen far behind in certain social issues such as this one. Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there. 残念なことなのに人種差別は実際に日本にあると思います。日本で1年間留学した時もこの最近の2年間日本で働いている間にも、人種差別の件がよく気づいてしまいました。外国で育てきた私にはそれを見ると辛い気持ちがします。もちろん、母国はかんぺきではありません。国々の全部と同じように、自分の国の問題はたくさんあります。ですけど、この問題がどこにもあると言っても何もしなくてはいいとは限らないと思います。どこにもある問題だからこそ、自分の国でも日本でも、人種差別をなくすように働くべきです。 「日本には変更が遅い」とよく聞きます。でも、日本が世界の中では進むために、人種差別をなくすように優先しましょう。日本は礼節で有名なのに他の分野はまだまだでしょう。｢見えないからない」と言っている人がいるかもしれないが、そのわけではありません。

日本で働くこと、住むことが本当に大好きです。でも、眼下にある問題を無視しません。人間に愛情を込めて自分の人生の中に人種差別を気づいてなおしましょう！心からお願いします。

Where do I begin? I spent the last thirty minutes listening to a group of arrogant and condescending non educators disrespect my colleagues and profession. I listened to a group of disingenuous people whose own self-interests guide their policies rather than the interests of children. I listened to a cabal of people who sit on national education committees that will have a profound impact on classroom teaching practices. And I heard nothing of value. "I'm thinking about the current health care debate," I said. "And I am wondering if I will be asked to sit on a national committee charged with the task of creating a core curriculum of medical procedures to be used in hospital emergency rooms." The strange little man cocks his head and, suddenly, the fly on the wall has everyone's attention. "I realize that most people would think I am unqualified to sit on such a committee because I am not a doctor, I have never worked in an emergency room, and I have never treated a single patient. So what? Today I have listened to people who are not teachers, have never worked in a classroom, and have never taught a single student tell me how to teach."

2009 National Teacher of the Year Anthony Mullen, describing his experience at a national conference on the future of teaching in his blog post, “Teachers Should Be Seen and Not Heard.” This should be read. (via politicalprof)

My favorite way to end the week: a little bit of amazing.

You can’t stay the same. If you’re a musician and a singer, you have to change, that’s the way it works.

Van Morrison

I've come to realize what a hard simple truth it is: one must pursue the dream to live the dream.

Without music, life would be a mistake.

-Friedrich Nietzsche

This guy is amazing. So much respect.

No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.

Oscar Wilde

Copenhagen is amazing. I think this tops the captain's announcements-train conductor that we all love.

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.

Henry David Thoreau

Life, like pictures, can have unexpected results. It's how you see it that matters.

Every worthwhile accomplishment, big or little, has its stages of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle and a victory.

Gandhi

Reasons why everyone should read all kinds of classics #241