Otto's blog

At Kawashima Water Eco Park, I found out how to make a crayfish (zarigani) trap using a plastic pet bottle. I really wanted to see if it would work, so last week I made one & put it in the creek near my house.

As you can see, it worked pretty well!

If you make one, please let me know what you catch. And if your wife tells you it`s a stupid hobby for an adult, please ignore her. She`s probably just envious.

[click on the picture to zoom]

On Sunday we took Owen to see a free `Anpan Man` show at Leaf Walk shopping centre. Wow - I`ve never seen so many small kids in one place! And just to see some people with decorated beachballs on their heads.

We arrived about 25 minutes before the scheduled start time of 11am, but it was already packed (= very crowded).

So we gave up and went and had an early lunch instead. But we came back later so Owen could see the characters. He was pretty excited - he likes Anpan Man. Well, all Japanese kids like Anpan Man, right?

Did you like Anpan Man when you were a kid? Did you have any Anpan Man toys?

(If you are not from planet Japan & don`t know who Anpan Man & friends are, this clip will give you an idea)

This is a new running feature on my blog. I hope you like it.

I like various kinds of music, and you probably wouldn`t like a lot of it (Gifu teacher Henriette, for example, was disgusted to find me listening to "Light rock & easy listening 70s hits" once on internet radio). However, I will choose songs I think you might like.

Remember, if you`re studying English, listening to English language songs is an interesting way to learn new vocabulary (=words) and improve your listening skills.

This song is "Two" (2007) by American singer Ryan Adams (not Bryan Adams).

Sample Lyrics:
It takes two and it used to take only one

Another Ryan Adams song you might like: "This House is Not For Sale"

Let me know what you think in comments. And if you want to read the full song lyrics, just do a google search - easy!

The recent federal (=national) election in Australia was REALLY close, & the 2 main parties needed to get `greens` & `independents` (no party) members to join them to be the winner. Anyway, the greens & most of the independents chose Julia Gillard`s party, so she is (still) Australia`s Prime Minister - congratulations!

But I think she will have a hard time keeping all her new `friends` happy. I think we will have another federal election before too long.

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I forgot to include this photo of 3 young guys we met at the top of Gozaisho Mountain. What do you think of their fashion? I think it`s pretty funny. Especially as I think they came up by the ropeway...

To be honest, when I was a teenager I sometimes dressed like this, but this is because:
1. I didn`t have any money
2. I didn`t have any friends
3. I didn`t have any fashion sense, &
4. it was the 80`s (NOBODY had any fashion sense)

But these guys all said hello to us as they passed. Japanese hikers are very polite.

If you`re feeling lonely, I recommend hiking in Japan; lots of people will say hello to you.

An Imaginary Conversation with Jack Bauer from the TV series `24`:

Jack: How`s it going Otto?
Me: Alright
J: You sure? You`re walking a bit strangely - do your legs hurt or something?
Me: Yeh, I went hiking with my wife`s brother-in-law on Saturday - a place called Gozaisho Mountain in Mie Prefecture.
J: A tough climb?
Me: Kind of. It`s 1212 metres high, and I`m not in very good shape (=condition) nowadays. And we`re no spring chickens (=young) anymore, you & me, Jack.
J: Haha, yeh, I know... Did you see any animals?
Me: Not really; just insects - butterflies, dragonflies... stuff like that. But I saw a lot of interesting plants, & the view from the top was pretty impressive.
J: Nice. Was it hot?
Me: Not so bad actually. And I had my fashionable but effective TERAGOYA FAN to keep me cool.
J: Oh! I want one of them! They`re sweet!
Me: Well, Jack, just leave a comment on my website, & you could win one for free.
J: Okay - I`ll do that! Hey - did you say 1212 metres?
Me: Yeh, why?
J: 12 plus 12 equals... 24!
Me: Oh yeh - hahaha!
J: Hahaha!

The end

It`s cool! It`s fashionable! It`s eco-friendly! It`s sitting on my desk gathering dust... Anyway, it`s a TERAGOYA FAN, and you have a chance to win it!!!

All you have to do is write a comment telling me why I should give it to YOU.

Begin your comment: "You should give it to me because..."

In 2 weeks I will choose my favorite answer and that person will receive this fantastic limited edition collector`s item.

Anyone can enter - Teragoya students, non-students, kids, adults, animals, aliens, even New-Zealanders!

You know you want it... So leave a comment!

Good luck!

Today we went to the annual (=once every year) Thai Festival in Sakae. It was pretty busy when we arrived at 2pm, & was still busy when we left at about 5pm. It seems very popular!

I tried a few different Thai dishes - fried thai noodles, chicken with basil & chilli, boiled chicken with rice, deep-fried marinated pork strips, spicy papaya salad, deep-fried banana, & of course some Singha beer. Mmmmmm... it was all delicious.

Maybe you`re not interested, but beer Singha beer used to be 6.0% alcohol content, but now (since 2007) it`s 5.0%. I think it tastes better. Beer Chang (`Elephant Beer`!) is 6.4%, but ONLY in Thailand - if you buy it in Japan, it`s 5.0%!

There were various performances on stage e.g. Thai dancing, J-pop, traditional Japanese instrumental, & when we were leaving, they were preparing for a kids` Muay Thai demonstration. I didn`t wait to see it though. If I want to see kids fighting, I can just tell my students I`ve hidden candy in my classroom.

Thanks everybody who came to the party on Saturday. It was a good chance to chat with students I don`t often see nowadays. I had a good time, and if you went I hope you did too.

Also, thankyou Kiyotaka for your live set. Good job, mate! Oh - and thankyou Makie for cooking some great food for us - it was delicious!

Did you go? If not, why not? (If you answer in `comments`, I`ll forgive you!)

I was watching the classic western, A Fistful of Dollars recently and my wife commented that Clint Eastwood looked like David Beckham.

What do you think?

You should be able to find several westerns starring Clint Eastwood at your local DVD rental store. If you haven`t seen them, why not have a look? If you do, make sure you watch in wide-screen/panorama!

I also like Clint Eastwood`s character (but not his 70`s clothes) in the "Dirty Harry" series of movies. What? You haven`t seen them either??? Well, now is a good time - they`re only 80yen at GEO.

Go!