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.
![Gozaisho Mountain Hiking]()
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!
![Medaka News Update]()
Besides things like bbqs, streams, parks & restaurants, Kawashima Water Eco Park also has a building called the `Aqua Restoration Training Center`. Inside, there are displays, videos, books etc. about Japanese rivers and their ecosystems. I found it very interesting.
Anyway, at home I noticed that most of my medaka release eggs, which become babies. However, a few of my fish give birth to LIVING babies. Now I know why! The volunteer a the A.R.T.C. explained that the ones which have eggs are Japanese medaka, but the other ones are from North America. They were introduced to Japan in the 1950`s. The American ones are stronger than the Japanese ones, so in fact, now in Kyushu there are only American `kadayashi` - no Japanese medaka!
Occasionally I release medaka back into the creek near my house, but the volunteer told me not to release the American ones. Haha - I have American prisoners - maybe Rambo will visit me!
Anyway, the above picture, which I found on the internet, shows the difference.
I`ve always taught Tuesday to Saturday at Teragoya, but I will change to a Monday to Friday schedule now. Our new teacher, Parren, will take over my Saturday classes, including this one - my Advanced class.
To celebrate, last Saturday Mariko bought a delicious cake, which we ate in class. Thankyou, Mariko!
Actually, I`m sure I will still see everybody sometimes. In fact, a lot of these students are coming to the party this Saturday night. See you there, guys!
My wife & I are excited about this weekend`s Thai festival in Sakae. If you`re free (& have recovered from Saturday night`s party) why don`t you go? It looks like there will be lots to see, do and - most importantly for me - EAT. I loooove Thai food!
We plan on going on Sunday. If you see me, say hello & have a Singha (not Chang) with me.
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内倉憲一 
KUMA 
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ウチクラ ケンイチ 
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