Bear vs. Bare

Let the Games Begin!

The London Olympics opening ceremony has finished and some of the games have already begun.  What sports or events are you going to be watching?  I saw both women's and men's soccer and congratulations to Japan for achieving wins in their first match.  Both were exciting games!

What?

Are you a mutant?

Do you have too many eyes or lips?

Well your days of worrying are over,

with this new miracle product!

The lip & eye remover gel!

beware of the bracelet...!

I went to the pool last weekend.  It would have been perfect if one of the pool attendants hadn`t stopped me after 15 minutes asking me to take off my extremely dangerous bracelet. Unfortunately, it is the type of bracelet that once is attached can not be taken off and I have had mine for 6 years now. He then offered me to wear a long sleeve T-shirt to cover it up... My point when going to the pool is to tan so there was no way I was wearing one! He apologized saying my bracelet was dangerous and prohibited in the pool......! Alright, then how about the goggles or the zippers of those T-shirts you supposedly wear in the pool!!!??? Plus, I went there about 7 times last summer and was never told anything. Seriously! That sounded sooo ridiculous to me! I got my money back and left! Will head to the beach next time!

What's your real name?

<(ﾟﾛﾟ;)>OH NO!!!!

Here are some very weird Japanese foods.  Have any of you tried them or even want to try them? 

1.  Habushu

Of course you can drink this in Okinawa, and I have tried it myself.  It tastes like REALLY strong alcohol.  It wasn't bad, but just seeing the habu in there makes it grotesque.  Some restaurants in Tokyo seem to carry this as well.

2.  Inago

These are locusts and I have never tried them, and I probably won't try them (unless I am really drunk).  People in Nagano and the Tohoku area seem to eat these jumpy critters.  It seems to taste like soy sauce and sugar, so let's all give this one a try!

3.  Hachinoko

The next one here is bee larvae.  Ewww!  Again, people in the Tohoku area eat this.  What is it with the people in the north?  They just love to eat bugs.  These are usually served in a sweet teriyaki sauce or stir fried with butter soy sauce.  Mmm, yummy!

4.  Kusaya

I have never tried this, but I heard the smell of this sends people running to the bathroom.  This is basically rotten fish!  I thought natto was enough, but with fish too?!  It seems to be very popular in Izu, but I don't want to try this even when I'm drunk.  I think they keep the fish for ten years.  Wow!  If any have successfully eaten this fish, you are a true champion!

5.  Sanshouo

The last one is a salamander.  Again, you have to be pretty brave to eat this one too.  I'm not sure but it seems to be illegal to eat them now, but you might be able to find a restaurant somewhere.  It is served yakitori style so it might be pretty good.  People say it tastes like soft shelled turtle, so if you have ever tried turtle, you might like it.

Homonyms

FISH!

Anyone know what this fish is called?


Well, I just wanted to share the world's top 10 fish markets in the world.   For more information, check out this article.  Here is the ranking:

1.  La Boqueria: Barcelona, Spain
2.  Tsukiji Fish Market: Tokyo, Japan
3.  Union Square Farmer's Market: New York, USA
4.  Or Tor Kor Market: Bangkok, Thailand
5.  St. Lawrence Market: Toronto, Canada
6.  Borough Market: London, England
7.  Kreta Ayer Wet Market: Singapore
8.  Lancaster Central Market: Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
9.  Marché Provencal: Antibes, France
10.  Kowloon City Wet Market: Hong Kong


I have been to Tokyo over 5 times, but have never been to Tsukiji.  I reeaalllly want to go there.  Have any of you been there?  Which restaurants would you recommend?

Weekend in Yamasashi

I went to yamanashi prefecture last weekend. It was awesome! I almost died twice at Fuji Q but Ihad the chance to go hunting some juicy peaches, yummmmmmy!! The weather was great too and I went to some lavender festival...beautiful! Here are some pictures I took!

Is no rat, is nutria

A friend of mine took this photo 

on the banks of the Kamo river in Kyoto. 

It's a Coypu or Nutria, 

and they are not native to Japan 

(the originally come from south america) 

When we have heavy rain and the river floods 

(as happened last week) 

these chaps get forced out of the fast flowing water. 

You can find out more about them at their Wikipedia page.

CLICK HERE

Do you speak Hindi?

Do you speak English?

Well then you also speak a little Hindi.

Click the picture above for a link to a BBC article 

about words that the British picked up while in India.

What some famous logos used to look like

I don`t think modern stuff are always great and necessary but I find those modernized logos much more catchy and fun than the old ones!

Did you know...?

... That giant anteaters have front legs that look like pandas?

LOOK!

This one is also carrying a baby on its back.

JOKES

 

#1. I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day,

but I couldn't find any.  

#2. Police arrested two kids yesterday, 

one was drinking battery acid, the other was eating fireworks. 

They charged one - and let the other one off.     

#3. A man was seen fleeing down the hall of the hospital just before his operation.

"What's the matter?" he was asked.

He said, "I heard the nurse say, 'It's a very simple operation, 

don't worry, I'm sure it will be all right."

"She was just trying to comfort you, what's so frightening about that?"

"She wasn't talking to me. She was talking to the doctor."

Run for your Lives!!!!

Ever wanted to experience a real zombie attack?  Do you think you can survive just like they do in the movies?  Well, here's your chance to prove it!  In America, there is an event called "Run for your lives."  Check out the website and watch the video.

Basically you have to run through a 5 kilometer course while dodging zombies.  Sounds easy huh?  Well you have 3 flags around your waist and the zombies will try to take them from you.  Think of the flags as your life.  Now in real life you don't have 3 lives so consider yourself lucky.  If you can cross the finish line with at least 1 flag around your waist, you have survived the zombie attack! 

Good luck!

Word of the Week

 

 

Catch-22  

 

DEFINITION

noun

1: a problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule;  

also : the circumstance or rule that denies a solution

2: an illogical, unreasonable, or senseless situation

 

EXAMPLES

Following her graduation from college, Kelsey struggled with the classic job-seeker's catch-22: how to acquire work experience in her chosen field without already having a job in that field.

"It is the conservationist's catch-22: what to do when one endangered species starts eating another. That is the problem facing environmentalists whose research shows that jaguars, themselves at risk of extinction, are increasingly preying on endangered turtle species." — From an article by Kevin Rawlinson in The Independent (London), May 8, 2012

 

DID YOU KNOW?

"Catch-22" originated as the title of a 1961 novel by Joseph Heller. (Heller had originally planned to title his novel Catch-18, but the publication of Leon Uris's Mila 18 persuaded him to change the number.) The novel's catch-22 was as follows: a combat pilot was crazy by definition (he would have to be crazy to fly combat missions) and since army regulations stipulated that insanity was justification for grounding, a pilot could avoid flight duty by simply asking, but if he asked, he was demonstrating his sanity (anyone who wanted to get out of combat must be sane) and had to keep flying. The label "catch-22" soon entered the language as the label for any irrational, circular and impossible situation.

From Merriam-Webster Online

Octogenerian X Ping Pong

 What do you get when you cross an octogenerian (someone who is in their 80s) and ping pong?  Well, nothing much, but a pretty exciting ping pong match.  It's pretty amazing to see a person in their eighties playing ping pong.  Check out this video to see them in action. 

I hope I am this energetic when I'm 80.... 

Can't decide what airline to fly?

Well, maybe this can help you.  Here is a top 10 list of the most innovative airlines. 

1. Korean Air
2. British Airways
3. Delta Air Lines
4. KLM
5. TAM (Brazil)
6. Qatar Airways
7. Virgin America
8. airBaltic
9. AirAsia
10. ANA (Japan)

Again, this is not the best airlines, but just the most innovative.  So if you are planning to fly in style, Korean Air will be your choice.  Delta also has unique feature which lets you track your baggage through a mobile phone app.  That way you are not waiting hours for your baggage and find out it went on the wrong flight.  Here is the article for more information.

A really bad day (joke)

There was this guy at a bar, just looking at his drink. He stayed like that for half an hour.

Then, this big trouble-making truck driver steps up next to him, takes the drink from the guy, and just drinks it all down. The poor man starts crying. The truck driver says, "Come on man, I was just joking. Here, I'll buy you another drink. I just can't stand to see a man cry."

"No, it's not that. This is the worst day of my life. First, I overslept, and I got to my office late. My boss, outrageous, fires me. When I left the building, I found out my car was stolen. The police said that they could do nothing. I get a cab to return home, and when I leave it, I remember I left my wallet and credit cards there. The cab driver just drives away."

"I go home, and when I get there, I find my wife in bed with the gardener. I leave home, and come to this bar. And just when I was thinking about putting an end to my life, you show up and drink my poison."

The amazing spiderman

Gummy Haute couture

For all the gummy lovers.... I can not imagine how heavy this dress must be!!!

Even MORE picture words

Hotel le Gundam!

We introduced a Hello Kitty hotel room earlier for those Hello Kitty fans.  Now for you Gundam fans (like me :)  there is an awesome room available in Tokyo.  There are only 3 rooms at the Hotel Grand Pacific Le Daiba.  It costs around ¥25,000 per night, but it will be a night you'll never forget!  Two of the rooms can be combined into a suite to make your experience that much more memorable. 

It's also near Gundam Front Tokyo so you can totally bathe your weekend with Gundam.  You can check out the hotel here or check out Gundam Front Tokyo

The Amazing Spiderman

Sunday was rainy and it was also the 1st day of the month 

(1000 yen cinema ticket). 

So my girlfriend and I went to see the new Spider-Man film. 

It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. 

I used to read Spider-Man comics when I was a kid,

so I find the movies to be enjoyably nostalgic if nothing else.

It was fast and kept you entertained, 

but it didn't really do anything that different to the first 3 films. 

Good for a rainy day when tickets are cheap, 

but not worth rushing to see at the cinema at full price.