eh...?

DON'T USE NO DOUBLE NEGATIVES!

What the ...?

I keep seeing these things and I always wonder
if they are a butterfly　蝶　or a dragonfly 蜻蛉

Well it turns out that the "Ebony Jewelwing" ハグロトンボ
is neither, its a damselfly. I had never heard of this kind
of insect before. The difference between a dragonfly and
a damselfly is that when not flying, a dragonflies wings stick
out perpendicular to its body, but when a damselfly is not
flying it folds its wings parallel to its body. WOW!!!
But I have a question for you, what does the ハグロ　mean?
It sounds like お歯黒　BLACK TEETH !? What !?!?
It is black but why black TEETH dragonfly?
Or am I just mistaken...?

Here are some Wikipedia links in English & Japanese
Ebony Jewelwing
ハグロトンボ
Damselfly
イトトンボ
Ohaguro
お歯黒

Muzak

Thanks to everyone who came to the show on Sunday.
Here are some pictures courtesy of Yoshiko.

ROCK & ROLL !!!

DON'T FORGET PHIL'S BAND
IS PLAYING TOMORROW NIGHT (6/26)

It's going to be a great show!

We are playing at VOX Hall in Kyoto
Click here for a Map
Doors open at 6pm and the show starts at 6:30
My band will start around 7pm
but there are lots of great bands playing as well.
Tickets are ￥1700 with a drink
and 100% of the profits will be donated to the
Japan Society's Earthquake relief fund.
We hope to see you there!

I feel .......

Let us know

Please take a moment
to answer our poll question.
It will really help us a lot, thanks.
If your answer is not an option on the poll,
please leave a comment.

Here comes the sun...

Tuesday was the Summer solstice

Link to Wikipedia article

One of my favorite sports is surfing. I can`t really do anything special but just standing on the board and surfing a wave is one the best feelings ever! Here is my favourite surfing spot at home, Reunion sweeeet Reunion...
Could you advise me a good spot in or close to the Kansai area???

I AM YOUR FATHER

What did you do for FATHER'S DAY?
Did you see your dad on Sunday?
Did you give him a gift?
Please let us know in the comments below.
(BTW Father's day in Australia is the first Sunday in September.)

Have a good one

Enjoy the weekend everyone!
Looks like there is going to be storms for the next few days.
Check out the fire flies if you have time.
See you next week.
:P

A little bit of history

Australia was once a very wild and dangerous place (sometimes it still is) and 100 years ago outlaws called "BUSH RANGERS" roamed the country. The most famous of these bush rangers was a man called NED KELLY. He wore metal armor to protect himself from bullets (but it didn't work) He is now seen as an Australian icon & hero, an Ishikawa Gomoen / Robin Hood type character. But in reality he was a criminal and murderer (the police did treat him badly though)

A good/realistic film about bush rangers is "THE PROPOSITION" but its rather violent, and Heath Ledger made a good "NED KELLY" film also.

Further reading
Wikipedia BUSH RANGERS
Wikipedia Ned Kelly

Pictured (above/right)
Ned Kelly's armor on display in the state library of Victoria.

Food sweet food

I really miss Reunion food lately! It is soooo good! May be a bit spicy if you are not used to it but I love it! Here is a pic of what we usually have as an appetizer... Yummy!!!

Whats up?

What I did on the weekend.

On Sunday I went to see "BLACK SWAN" at the cinema.
It was really good.
I really like most of director Daron Aronofsky's films,
and this one was beautiful and dark at the same time.
It's a bit of a psychological thriller,
and deals with mental health problems,
so it might not be every one's cup of tea.
But I thought it was great,
so if you don't mind a bit of an intense ride
I recommend you go see it as soon as possible,
because it probably only has a few weeks left at the cinema
before you will have to wait for the DVD.
:Phil

Soapy welcome!

This morning I was deeply asleep when someone knocked on my door. (I don`t know anyone it hasn`t happened to!) . Since I am not grumpy in the morning I kindly opened the door and a lovely lady apologized for waking me up and introduced herself as my new neighbor. She took a present out of her bag and gave it to me. I thanked her, closed the door and after an hour of sleep, I decided to open my unexpected present. I kind of felt bad because when I moved in I just introduced myself to one neighbour and did not give anything to anyone T-T
I got dish soap which I thought was cute and clever! Everyone needs a dish soap, right?! I will make sure to put a memo in her mail box this week to thank her again :)

Is it common in Japan to offer this kind of present when you moved into a new place? Honestly, I really did not expect it and I loved it!

BIG SHOW!!!

Phil's band
BLUE HERON FIRE
will be playing a live set
at VOX Hall in Kyoto
on June 26th.

For more information visit

http://www.kyotoingbar.com/

http://voxhall.net/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Heron-Fire/112118625491943

Wrath of the gods.

Nature is sometimes frighteningly beautiful.

Here are some photos from the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle eruption in Chile.

Do you know nyan cat?

Saturday night Spa

Last Saturday I went to a great spa located in Osaka. It was just fantastic! Saunas, hot baths, freezing rooms,..H-E-A-V-E-N! You can event get a massage there and have lunch/diner. It is pretty big and there`s plenty of things to do so it is better to stay a few hours there to fully enjoy it.
It was my second time there and I hope I can go back there soon!!!
Sorry I had forgotten my camera that day but here is the link of the website : http://www.syofukunoyu.com/honten/access.html

Have you ever been there? If not, you really should!

I have an itch I can't scratch

I'm not 100% sure what a "SLOW LORIS" is
but it sure is cute!

Semicolon

Read the rest of the article at

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon