A better history of English

Last one was a bit confusing. Click to enlarge.

Be careful with your English

After Ayaka Shiomura has insulted by cowards in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly a few weeks ago, Prime minister Abe decided to make a website to show his support for the women of Japan. This was the title page. Can you see something strange?

How many people do you think read this before it went online? Professionals paid a lot of money to make this didn't notice? That's right. After everything that happened, Abe makes a website for the women of Japan and tells them all to "DIE" on the title page. It is so stupid I almost can't believe it is true. You see SHINE in romanji sounds like しね or DIE (氏ね) in Japanese. If you are going to use just one word of English Mr Abe, try to make sure it doesn't mean something else in your own language next time. LOL !

Movie review: 300 Rise of an Empire

I saw the latest 300 movie last Sunday. For those that don't know it is the second movie in a series. The first move, just called 300, was released years ago, and when I saw it I thought it was really good. So I was hoping this new one would be even better. Unfortunately I was a little disappointed. It was similar to the first film, but it didn't really do anything new. The evil character played by actress Eva Green was good, but all the other characters were very forgettable. One big problem I had was that half the cast (including the hero) were Australian actors. They made almost no attempt to cover their natural accents and Aussie accents just sound wrong for ancient Greece. I kept waiting for them to add a "mate" at the end of all their lines.

"TOMORROW WE STAND AND FIGHT...mate"

If all you want is the blood and violence you got in the first film, maybe give it a try. 

If you were hoping for something bigger and better than the first one, maybe give it a miss.

3/5

(I gave it a bonus point because I love the historical setting, 

and was glad to see a strong female character.)

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

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.

Sweetdreams

Easter got me thinking about rabbits. Creepy rabbits. You see I find it more scary when you take something cute and make it scary. I was thinking about all the creepy rabbits I have seen in movies over the years and realized it was quite a lot. So here is (in no particular order) a list of the top ten creepy rabbits.

1. The Easter bunny from Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. The main characters had to face their greatest fears, one of which was this creepy Easter bunny. He might look all sweet in the pic but later he become something terrifying. 

2. Cuddles from Happy Tree Friends. The characters from this show are cute, but it is the most violent thing on TV. Each episode they die in the most gruesome ways possible. I have seen Cuddles die violently more time than I can remember. 

3. Frank from Donny Darko. He is a dream guide, and one super creepy rabbit dude.

4. General Woundwort from Watership Down. It looks like a kids cartoon about cute little bunnies, but if you let your kids watch it they will be traumatized for life.

5. The giant bunny from Akira, which you have seen because you are Japanese right? No? Well go and watch it, it has to be the most famous anime ever.

6. The "hat trick" rabbit from the Twilight Zone. The story is about a young boy who can make anything he imagines real. When his grandfather performs the old rabbit in the hat trick the boy make it into a nightmare.

 7. Peter Jackson's Meet the Feebles will scar you for life. I guarantee you will never watch a kids TV show the same way ever again.

8. Sexy Beast was not a good movie, but the weird rabbit man who kills the main character in his dreams was nice and creepy.

9. The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog, from Monty Python's Holy Grail. Looks all cute and fluffy until it ATTACKS!!!!!

10. This creep...

John Barleycorn: A Ballad

There was three kings into the east,
Three kings both great and high,
And they hae sworn a solemn oath
John Barleycorn should die.

They took a plough and plough'd him down,
Put clods upon his head,
And they hae sworn a solemn oath
John Barleycorn was dead.

But the cheerful Spring came kindly on,
And show'rs began to fall;
John Barleycorn got up again,
And sore surpris'd them all.

The sultry suns of Summer came,
And he grew thick and strong;
His head weel arm'd wi' pointed spears,
That no one should him wrong.

The sober Autumn enter'd mild,
When he grew wan and pale;
His bending joints and drooping head
Show'd he began to fail.

His colour sicken'd more and more,
He faded into age;
And then his enemies began
To show their deadly rage.

They've taen a weapon, long and sharp,
And cut him by the knee;
Then tied him fast upon a cart,
Like a rogue for forgerie.

They laid him down upon his back,
And cudgell'd him full sore;
They hung him up before the storm,
And turned him o'er and o'er.

They filled up a darksome pit
With water to the brim;
They heaved in John Barleycorn,
There let him sink or swim.

They laid him out upon the floor,
To work him farther woe;
And still, as signs of life appear'd,
They toss'd him to and fro.

They wasted, o'er a scorching flame,
The marrow of his bones;
But a miller us'd him worst of all,
For he crush'd him between two stones.

And they hae taen his very heart's blood,
And drank it round and round;
And still the more and more they drank,
Their joy did more abound.

John Barleycorn was a hero bold,
Of noble enterprise;
For if you do but taste his blood,
'Twill make your courage rise.

'Twill make a man forget his woe;
'Twill heighten all his joy;
'Twill make the widow's heart to sing,
Tho' the tear were in her eye.

Then let us toast John Barleycorn,
Each man a glass in hand;
And may his great posterity
Ne'er fail in old Scotland!

Any requests?

Hi everyone. 

Do you have any requests for the blog? 

What would you like to see more of? 

Please let us know if you have any ideas. 

Thanks.

ah....what?

Sliding Olympics

Are you watching the games?

I'm not, I hate the Olympics, 

hell I hate sports in general. 

But the winter Olympics is honestly 

just lots of different kinds of sliding. 

There is stand up sliding, sit down sliding, 

lying down sliding, one stick sliding, 

two sticks sliding, dance sliding, 

hockey sliding etc etc. 

You won a medal? 

Wow good for you! 

You can slide better than some other people 

well done...

Too cold, stay home watch movies...

It's been so cold recently that I don't want to go 

outside in the evenings. That means that I've 

been watching more movies than usual.

A cross between Ghost Busters and Men In Black. 

Honestly not very good, but I like the actor 

Jeff Bridges and it had a few funny moments. 

3/5 

(should probably be a 2 but it gets an extra point for the cowboy jokes)

A very long movie, well it felt very long. 

Tells three connected stories one at a time. 

Great cinematography but got a bit boring in places. 

2/5

Funny and cute, this movie tells the story of a man 

with mental health problems who introduces his 

"girlfriend" who is a love doll, to his family and local 

community. You think it will be a one joke movie but it's 

actually quite sweet and never gets dirty as you would expect. 

3/5

Now I know this is an old one and you have all seen it, 

but I never had. It was fantastic! Great to see a strong 

female character that doesn't need a boy to save her. 

Nausicaä puts those pathetic Disney princess to shame.

5/5

Osaka Castle in 3D

I went to see the 3D mapping show at Osaka castle last Saturday. The gardens were beautifully lit up and there were some nice food and drink stalls. The 3D show on the castle itself was just OK, kinda cheesy. For ￥2000 (￥3500 if you want a premium ticket) it feels a little expensive. If you want to see it you better hurry up as it only has a few days left before it ends.

The Beekeeper's Daughter

A garden of mouthings. Purple, scarlet-speckled, black
The great corollas dilate, peeling back their silks.
Their musk encroaches, circle after circle,
A well of scents almost too dense to breathe in.
Hieratical in your frock coat, maestro of the bees,
You move among the many-breasted hives,

My heart under your foot, sister of a stone.

Trumpet-throats open to the beaks of birds.
The Golden Rain Tree drips its powders down.
In these little boudoirs streaked with orange and red
The anthers nod their heads, potent as kings
To father dynasties. The air is rich.
Here is a queenship no mother can contest ---

A fruit that's death to taste: dark flesh, dark parings.

In burrows narrow as a finger, solitary bees
Keep house among the grasses. Kneeling down
I set my eyes to a hole-mouth and meet an eye
Round, green, disconsolate as a tear.
Father, bridegroom, in this Easter egg
Under the coronal of sugar roses

The queen bee marries the winter of your year.

- Sylvia Plath

The Hobbit - The desolation of Smaug

I went to see the new Hobbit movie when I was back 

home for my holidays. It was good, I always like 

Peter Jackson's "Middle Earth" films. 

The barrel ride down the river was great fun, 

and the dragon Smaug was cool. 

It did feel very much like a middle movie though. 

There was no beginning and no end, 

as it is part 2 of a 3 part series. 

If you like this kind of stuff, or you saw the first one, 

then I'm sure you are going to see it anyway.

3/5

47 Ronin

I saw one of the worst movies I have seen in my whole

 life last weekend. It was fantastic. I was laughing so 

much the woman next to me told me to shut up. 

It was hilarious. If you want a good laugh, and want to 

see Hollywood destroy one of Japan's most beloved 

traditional tales, I recommend the new 47 Ronin film. 

But remember you must be prepared to watch a 

very bad movie, that way you will enjoy it.

The weekend...

We first up, we had the awesome R.L.E adult's 

Christmas party on Saturday night. I won an 

awesome rubber chicken! This was followed by 

some Kareoke, which I had to leave early but I 

hear it went rather late and was lots of fun. 

(More on that to come soon)

Sunday I went Christmas shopping for gifts for my 

family as I will be visiting home for Christmas 

this year. We got lots of stuff, but the one I'm 

looking forward to stealing from my nephew is the 

BATTLEROBORGS they look awesome.

 (And were my girlfriends idea) 

On Monday we went to see the last of the Autumn 

leaves around Kyoto, and in the evening stayed in 

with a DVD. We watched "Cronicle" and it was quite 

good. The story is about three high school boys who 

have strange powers, and how power can be dangerous. 

I would recommend it if you like action movies, 

superheroes or even just dramas.  

:Phil

Hokkaido

I went to Hokkaido last weekend.

It was cold of course, but not a bad as we expected.

The first night we stayed in Otaru.

It's a very cute little town, 

with lots of old European style buildings.

They also brew local beer.

The next day we drove to Hakodate.

It is also a very cute little town,

with a lot of influence from Europe.

It is also most famous for its lovely night view

of the city from the top of the mountain.

Before we drove back to Sapporo we stopped at

the Hakodate museum of northern peoples.

I found it rather interesting as there are very

few places where you can get information on

Ainu culture. Have a look if you get the chance.
LINK

We had a lovely time and will definitely go back

to Hakkaido to see more of the beautiful countryside.

A note on homework

We know that everyone is busy, life can be crazy sometimes, 

but if you want your English ability to improve you need to study. 

Coming to your lesson each week is a great start 

but it's not enough by itself. 

You need to be reading, writing, listening and speaking 

as much as you can. Read a book, write a journal, 

watch a TV show, sing along to your favorite English song. 

Do whatever you can, it doesn't really matter how long, 

10 minutes a day is better than nothing, 

having fun is what really matters. 

You should do most of your learning before class, 

because class is your chance to practice what you 

know with the teacher. Speak, speak ,speak as much as 

you can in class and read, read, read, 

as much as you can at home. 

Good luck!

Wise man say

Summer or winter, thick or thin, 

for a man or a woman, in 

English they are all scarves. 

A muffler only goes on your car.

Radio Halloween!

Time for some creepy music.

Can anyone guess which famous pop-star is singing the chorus?