Thursday, June 26, 2014

Kurama mountain

 First we took the train (eizan line) from demachiyanagi, it took about half an hour to get to kurama station, and the journey was very pleasant through the forest.

 The first thing you will notice when you get off the train is the giant tengu head. Kurama is famous for being the place where the samurai Yoshitsune was taught how to sword fight by the mythical tengu.

 We were hungry so we stopped for a light lunch before climing the mountain. There are man lovely restaurants along the river.


 Then it was up the mountain!

  
 And up!

 Don't forget to purify your body.

 There are some beautiful enormous trees. They must be very old.

 Lots of little temples and gates all over the mountain.

 At the top you get special tiger power from the magic of the location (so the booklet told us) You will need it for the walk down. It takes about and hour and a half at a comfortable pace. My legs are still laughing a few days later.

Flowers


Yesterday in one of my classes I was asked about flowers. Being a boy I had no idea. To the student who asked (you know who you are) "Is this the one you were talking about アジサイ?" If so in English it is called a hydrangea. Sorry about that, flowers are not my area of expertise.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

The answers may not be what you expect...

1. What does the ozone layer smell like?

2. How many hearts does an octopus have?

3. What is the most commonly used noun in English?

4. On average how many times does a person walk around the earth in their lifetime?

5. What shape is the universe?

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

EIKEN

Try these 1st level EIKEN questions.


(1)The advisory council decided that, unless certain 
scenes were (_____), the movie would be too 
graphic and violent to be viewed by children.

1.omitted  2.exclaimed  3.repressed  4.barricaded


(2)The judge found the pet breeder criminally 
(_____) for keeping her dogs in tiny cages with no 
water. She was sentenced to three months in jail.

1.negligent  2.bereaved  3.innocuous  4.astounded


(3)The police detective (_____) from the 
amount of equipment stolen that four or five 
burglars had been involved in the robbery.

1.compressed  2.obstructed  3.integrated  4.deduced

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Japan's Chances to Advance in the World Cup

For all you soccer fans out there, especially Japan supporters, do you think Japan will advance to the round of 16? 


After a very painful loss to Côte d'Ivoire (or also known as the Ivory Coast), Japan's chances of advancing have become pretty difficult.  The next 2 games are going to be even tougher.  Well, I think that Japan still has a chance.  If they defeat Greece, and tie Colombia, there is still a chance.  But, they would have to play the best game of their lives in order to tie Colombia.  So what do you all think? 

Also, which team do you think will win the World Cup this year?  I believe Brazil, Germany, or the Netherlands will win it.  If I had to pick one, it would be Brazil. 

Friday, June 13, 2014

Word cup... meh...


All I hear recently is world cup this, word cup that. I don't really care. I don't really care for soccer in general. I used to play as a kid. And  if Australia or Japan plays an important game at a convenient time I'll go to the pub with a few mate for a drink and some laddish cheering. But I'm not going to be getting up at 4am to watch people kick ball. Hell I think I would like the game more if the focus was kicking the ball and scoring goals, but it seems nowadays that the aim of the game is falling over and pretending you are hurt. These men are supposed to be athletes at the pinnacle of psychical fitness, but the slightest contact and the cry like babies. From what I've seen I could single-handedly beat up the entire Italian soccer team. It is ridiculous and makes the game less fun.Try watching a game of Australian rules football, where standing on other players is completely legal.


But I guess I'm just not a big fan of sports in general. I like to play the odd game with my mates, but sitting down to watch them.... meh... no thanks, unless it is women's beach volleyball. I think in general sports are a waste of time. But they are a great way of keeping people entertained/distracted from the more important things. Imagine if we took all the time and money we spent pointlessly kicking balls around and did something important with it, like oh I don't know science? We would be so far ahead by now.Just ask the people of Brazil if they would have preferred the money to be spent on hospitals or schools instead of the extravagant spectacle we call the world cup. 


Another thing that bothers me is how sports people are deified. 
"Who is your hero Jimmy? "
"Rolandinadrio...." 
(or something like that, aren't they all called Ronaldo ..?)
"Oh really why?"
"Because he is a great soccer player."
"Well whoopdy-do, good for him. And how has that made the world a better place or advanced the human race....? It hasn't Jimmy all it has done is bought lots of cars and drugs for a man who is a border line idiot savant that spends all his time kicking a ball from one end of a field to another, or playing with his hair. Now go away Jimmy and think about the question more and come back to me when your have a hero who is someone that actually deserves your respect."



I mean why do we clap them at the end of a game? They are doing their job just like anyone else, and getting paid millions of dollars to boot. We should be standing outside the intensive care ward at the hospital clapping and cheering the doctor who just spent 24hours in surgery saving someones life. But no... we look up to people, who if they disappeared tomorrow, the world wouldn't even miss. Go and clap your garbage man, cheer for your sewer worker. Ronaldrinariosio has enough cash to make him happy he really doesn't need your love and adulation as well.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Strine

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27805070

An interesting article about Australian slang..

Click the pic for a link


Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Stereotypes

Stereotypes are broad generalization based on
common misconception.This means they are often wrong.
However there is sometimes a modicum of truth to them. 
Can you guess the following places?




How the alphabet sounds to a kid


Friday, June 6, 2014

Fathers' day



You don't have long left till Fathers' day. 
It's June 15th this year. 
Do you have an ugly tie or a boring pair of socks for your dad? 
The confusing thing for me is that Fathers' day 
is on different days in many countries. 
While the third Sunday in June is by far the most popular, in 
Australia and New Zealand  it is the first Sunday in September. 
Mothers' day is the same in most places (2nd Sun May) 
so that is easy, but I always forget about Fathers' Day.
This year I will send something to my dad next week 
for Japanese Fathers' day, that way I wont forget. 



Thursday, June 5, 2014

This game is no pun...

The names of these restaurants are all references to films/books. 
How many of them do you know? 









If you need help just ask :P

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Bad puns

These jokes are puns (play on words) similar to an 親父ギャグ. 

If you have any trouble understanding them 
ask me and I'll explain in more detail.