Last year when I went to the Gifu Air Show, it took about 2 hours to walk to the base from the train station. It was a nightmare. This year the organisers changed the route from the station to the base. It was a big improvement. I could walk there quickly & easily.
Even though the Blue Impulse formation flying team weren`t at this year`s show, I was happy because there were seven F-4 Phantoms. These planes are even older than me. I feel really lucky to have seen so many operational (= working) examples together in one place.
Pronunciation:
- Route: ルウト (Aus/UK pronunciation) ルウト or ラウト (US)
- Computer Router: ルウタ (Aus/UK) ルウタ or ラウタ (US)
Today I heard that Ken Takakura passed away (passed away = died). I`ve mentioned him on my blog a couple of times:
http://jp.bloguru.com/otto/220666/hashima-movie-museum
http://jp.bloguru.com/otto/194806/movie-yasei-no-shmei
He`s my favourite Japanese actor, so I`m sad, but I`m glad he made so many entertaining movies. I think I`ll watch one this weekend.
Rest in Peace, Ken-san.
Pronunciation:
- hear [ヒーア], heard [ハード] [NOT ヒーアド]
What are you doing this Sunday? I`m going to the Kakamigahara airshow. This poster says the Blue Impulse formation flying team won`t be there this year. Hopefully that means there will be fewer people - last year it was so crowded it took about 2 hours just to get from the train station to the air base. What a nightmare! Anyway, I`ll go there early this year & hopefully beat the crowds. If you go, maybe I`ll see you there!
Grammar:
There are various ways to ask about future plans:
- What are you doing/Are you doing anything tomorrow? *BEST*
- What are you going to do/Are you going to do anything...? OK
- What will you do/Will you do anything...? OK
- What do you do/Do you do anything...? NO
My kids love climbing on things - the sofa, the furniture, me when I`m trying to read a book... So we were happy to find this free kids climbing wall on the first floor of Kirio shopping centre in Kisogawa. My kids could enjoy climbing while I could read my book in peace.
Vocabulary:
- The FIRST floor in Japan & America is called the GROUND floor in Australia, Britain, & some of Europe. The SECOND floor in Japan is called the FIRST floor in Australia, & so on.
I`ve got a lot of old wood at home. I got a lot of it from the beach. This week I used some of it to make a set of small wooden boxes. I got the design for the numbers from the internet.
What will I put in them? Maybe coins; I`ve got a lot of low-value coins that I can`t be bothered (can`t be bothered = 面倒臭い) using in shops.
Grammar:
- I got... = ...を 在りついた
- I`ve got... = ...が あります
- Be careful: In spoken English, they often sound the same
Do you know the TV commercial where George Clooney cooks popcorn? If not; George Clooney is in a big garden. It`s sunny & he looks relaxed & happy. He`s cooking popcorn on a bbq & drinking beer.
When I saw this ad, I thought, "That looks fun. BBQ`ed popcorn & beer must taste good together." For a few weeks I looked for uncooked popcorn at various supermarkets & shops but couldn`t find it. Finally I found a cheap, large bag at a shop called Amika, in Ichinomya: http://www.oomitsu.com/amica/ten_ichi.html
Finally, I could cook popcorn on a bbq & drink beer in my garden. I felt like George Clooney. Unfortunately I don`t look like George Clooney. Nevermind.
Grammar:
- look/taste/smell/sound/feel/seem + 形容詞
- look/taste/smell/sound/feel/seem + LIKE + 名詞
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9hJd7RNVWc
This song is kind of halloween-related: "She`s Got a New Spell (spell = 呪り)" by English singer Billy Bragg. I`ve got a few of his CDs.
He has written a lot of songs. These are two more that I like:
"A New England" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kn552ae3CI
"Greetings to the New Brunette" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfKcG3gn3F8
Anyway, halloween is actually over (= finished) now. I`ve got to clean up the halloween decorations in my classroom.
Grammar:
- has/have got + 名刺 = has/have
- has/have got to + 動詞 = must
- Be careful: If you hear "I godda + 名刺," it means HAVE, but if you hear "I godda 動詞," it means MUST
In the first week of November, I will join other foreigners (外国人) for the 29th FAE. The first time I joined this exhibition was about 12 years ago. I entered it about 4 times, but I haven`t entered it for several years. I`m looking forward to joining again.
If you want to go, it`s on the fourth floor of Nagoya International Centre. You can walk there from Nagoya Station. If you want to meet me - and other artists - I`ll be there on the 9th, in the afternoon.
For more information:
http://www.nic-nagoya.or.jp/en/e/archives/7646
Vocabulary:
- first/second/third/fourth floor = 1階, 2階 , 3階, 4階
- first/second/third/fourth time = 初めて/最初, 2回目, 3回目, 4回目
- first/second/third/fourth of November = 11月の 1日 2日 3日 4日
- once, twice, three times, four times... = 1回 2回 3回
Teragoya had its Adults Halloween Party last Saturday. As you can see, a lot of people went, & it was a lot of fun. As usual, the costumes were great - there were several witches, a bunch of Wallys (from `Where`s Wally?`), a couple of princesses, various other characters, & even a flying remote-controlled shark - Wow!
If you went, I hope you had a good time. If you didn`t, please join us next year!
More pics here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/111005345077168312950/albums/6075180433843827409
Vocabulary:
- "I`m having a party/bbq" = My party/bbq; I`m the planner
- "I`m going to a party/bbq" = Not my party/bbq; I`m not the planner
Teragoya`s Kids Halloween Party was last week. Over 100 kids went.
This year my costume was a pirate. I think it looked good, but it was not good enough to win the `Best Teacher`s Costume` prize. And my costume wasn`t scary enough to make any kids cry this year. So I was doubly disappointed. Next year, if I have enough time, I will make a really strange & scary costume.
You can see my costume, & my giant `Pirate Puzzle` in the photo above.
You can see more pictures of the party here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/111005345077168312950/albums/6073725664711183009
Grammar:
- `形容詞 + enough` e.g. `My son`s not old enough to drive yet`
- `enough + 名詞` e.g. `I don`t have enough money`
- Be careful: `名詞 + enough` e.g. `money enough` is WRONG
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