Kea Parrot Trouble
Kea live in the mountains of New Zealand. Although they are colourful and playful birds, they cause a lot of damage due to their mischievous behaviour.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
New Zealand & Japan: Compare & Contrast
New Zealand Encyclopedia click here for interesting links to New Zealand
Monday, September 29, 2008
Iron Man
In this week's blog entry, I'd like to talk a bit about another movie that I saw: Iron Man. Since this movie was just released (in Japan September 27) there has been a lot of discussion of it on the Internet. This is another movie that I happened to watch as part of Cathay Pacific's in-flight entertainment. But unfortunately I was unable to see the ending as the plane landed:(
The main actor in the movie is Rober Downey Jr who plays the part of Tony Stark and Iron Man. His character is based on the American billionaire engineer and playboy Howard Hughes. Originally Iron Man was a comic and was first produced in the early 1960s. The movie, however, has been completely updated and is set in Afghanistan and includes terrorists. The movie is action-packed and includes some interesting special effects; sometimes involving humour. It is also interesting to adults because of its politics.
The main actor in the movie is Rober Downey Jr who plays the part of Tony Stark and Iron Man. His character is based on the American billionaire engineer and playboy Howard Hughes. Originally Iron Man was a comic and was first produced in the early 1960s. The movie, however, has been completely updated and is set in Afghanistan and includes terrorists. The movie is action-packed and includes some interesting special effects; sometimes involving humour. It is also interesting to adults because of its politics.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Movies
I saw many great movies during my vacation (actually I saw them on the plane on my way to and from England!). Among the movies I saw were Iron Man, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and so on. I'd like to tell you a bit about two of the movies that I really enjoyed: "The Bank Job" and "Flawless". Both movies were similar in that that they involved some kind of robbery: in the Bank Job, safety deposit boxes are robbed; in Flawless, diamonds are stolen. They are both true stories. And they are both set in England during the 1960's or 1970's .
Let me begin by telling you about the "The Bank Job". This is a story about a gang of small time thieves that decide to rob a London bank. The plan is very simple. They dig a tunnel under the city. The thieves are amateurs really, so they make many mistakes. Probably the most serious mistake involves them using "walkie-talkie" radios to contact each other. The police are able to listen in on their conversations. It is this action that makes the movie exciting, I think. Although the plan is very simple the story is quite complicated because it involves member of the Royal Family and Government Officials.
The second movie that I would like to tell you about is "Flawless" and starred Michael Caine and Demi Moore. Like the previous movie this one involved stealing something; in this case diamonds.
Let me begin by telling you about the "The Bank Job". This is a story about a gang of small time thieves that decide to rob a London bank. The plan is very simple. They dig a tunnel under the city. The thieves are amateurs really, so they make many mistakes. Probably the most serious mistake involves them using "walkie-talkie" radios to contact each other. The police are able to listen in on their conversations. It is this action that makes the movie exciting, I think. Although the plan is very simple the story is quite complicated because it involves member of the Royal Family and Government Officials.
The second movie that I would like to tell you about is "Flawless" and starred Michael Caine and Demi Moore. Like the previous movie this one involved stealing something; in this case diamonds.
My Summer Vacation
I had a really nice summer vacation. The first half of my vacation was spent in Nagoya and the second half was spent in the UK. As you know, it’s very humid in Nagoya. We need air conditioning. I stayed home a lot of the time with my family. My son is now 7 months old. So it was great to be able to spend some time with him. One of my hobbies is studying Japanese. I’m especially interested in Kanji. In order to remember them, I carry kanji cards around with me, and read children’s books.
The second half of my vacation was really interesting. I went to Cambridge in the UK. This is my hometown, so it was nice to spend some time with my friends there. I don’t think that English food is very good (Japanese food is much tastier!), but there are one or two things that I wanted to eat. One of them is ‘Fish and Chips’. It’s very British: French fried potatoes and deep fried fish with salt and vinegar on top. Another thing that is difficult to find in Japan is blue cheese. You can get blue cheese in Nagoya, but the taste is not good. If you go to England be sure to try these things! The weather in England this summer was terrible: it rained almost every day and so we hardly saw the sun at all.
Since I had a hire car on my trip, I was able to go for a few long drives. One day I drove from Cambridge to Birmingham and back to see my grandparents. My grandfather was so happy to meet his great-grandson for the first time. In fact they both have the same name! This made him especially happy.
Our trip back to Japan was very long: 2 hours by car from Cambridge to Heathrow Airport, 11 hours from Heathrow to Hong Kong, an hour and a half from Hong Kong to Taipei, 2 and a half hours from Taipei to Nagoya, and an hour from Centrair to my home! We had no sleep on the plane as my son was crying most of the time. Lucky the flight was not busy so we were able to use some spare seats next to us to spread out and relax. I was surprised when I got back to Japan how hot it still is. Even at the end of September Japan is hotter than England in June/July! Where shall I go for my next trip? That’s difficult to decide. Most of my relatives live in England, but my sister lives in the United Arab Emirates and my parents live in New Zealand! How was your vacation?
Word Count: 451 words
The second half of my vacation was really interesting. I went to Cambridge in the UK. This is my hometown, so it was nice to spend some time with my friends there. I don’t think that English food is very good (Japanese food is much tastier!), but there are one or two things that I wanted to eat. One of them is ‘Fish and Chips’. It’s very British: French fried potatoes and deep fried fish with salt and vinegar on top. Another thing that is difficult to find in Japan is blue cheese. You can get blue cheese in Nagoya, but the taste is not good. If you go to England be sure to try these things! The weather in England this summer was terrible: it rained almost every day and so we hardly saw the sun at all.
Since I had a hire car on my trip, I was able to go for a few long drives. One day I drove from Cambridge to Birmingham and back to see my grandparents. My grandfather was so happy to meet his great-grandson for the first time. In fact they both have the same name! This made him especially happy.
Our trip back to Japan was very long: 2 hours by car from Cambridge to Heathrow Airport, 11 hours from Heathrow to Hong Kong, an hour and a half from Hong Kong to Taipei, 2 and a half hours from Taipei to Nagoya, and an hour from Centrair to my home! We had no sleep on the plane as my son was crying most of the time. Lucky the flight was not busy so we were able to use some spare seats next to us to spread out and relax. I was surprised when I got back to Japan how hot it still is. Even at the end of September Japan is hotter than England in June/July! Where shall I go for my next trip? That’s difficult to decide. Most of my relatives live in England, but my sister lives in the United Arab Emirates and my parents live in New Zealand! How was your vacation?
Word Count: 451 words
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Diet & Exercise: Obesity
The problem of obesity seems to be in the news more and more these days. Probably you have heard that the USA has one of the higest rates of obesity. According to this article, about 119 million, or 64.5%, of US adults are either overweight or obese. This is expected to increase!
Did you also know that Mississippi has one of the highest rates of obese people within America? Click on the following link for a BBC news report dealing with obesity in Mississippi. You can also watch one of Mississippi's residents being interviewed. She weighs 222kg!
Here is another interesting site that lists the top 10 states in the USA in order of how fat they are. As you can see, most state are in the south. According to the article, 30% of the residents there are obese (very fat).
Did you also know that Mississippi has one of the highest rates of obese people within America? Click on the following link for a BBC news report dealing with obesity in Mississippi. You can also watch one of Mississippi's residents being interviewed. She weighs 222kg!
Here is another interesting site that lists the top 10 states in the USA in order of how fat they are. As you can see, most state are in the south. According to the article, 30% of the residents there are obese (very fat).
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Interesting Information about Laughter
Science of Laughter
Here are some sites dealing with the science of laughter. Why do people laugh? What are some of the benefits of laughter? What makes YOU laugh?
Serious Laughter
New Scientist
Humour
How Stuff Works
Happiness
Laughter Clubs
Laughter Clubs began in 1995 in India, by an Indian doctor. Since then they have spread all over the world. There are now more than 5,000 laughter clubs around the world. There are even some in Japan. I was really surprised when I found one in Nagoya! Click on this link to find information about WHY Laughter Clubs began. Here are some sites from YouTube:
This clip shows a Laughter Yoga Session In Tokyo:
Benefits of Laughter Yoga with John Cleese. Famous British comedian goes to India to find out about Laughter Yoga. Click on this link to see him in action.
Comedy & Funny Stuff
This is my favourite one. It shows Rowan Atkinson (Before he played the character Mr Bean). It's very simple. He walks along the road and notices a Cameraman on the other side of the road. He says "hello" and keeps waving to him. But he doesn't look where he's going. First he accidentally walks into a lamppost, because he is too busy watching the cameraman. In the next scene he almost walks into another lamppost doing exactly the same thing. This time, however, he manages to avoid walking into the lamppost. But instead, he falls down a hole! I think that his facial expression is so funny. Find out what happens by clicking on this link.
Patch Adams
Here are some sites about Patch Adams. Who was he? What did he do? What was his job? Why was he so different to other (conventional) doctors?
I think that it's interesting because Patch Adams was a real doctor that realised the importance of humour in hospitals: he knew very well about the benefits of laughter. Anyway, he became so famous in the USA (and around the world) for his work that his life story was made into movie starring Robbin Willams. This one is a bit difficult, but it's well written and has a lot of interesting information.
Task
Work together as a group collecting important and useful information about "humour", "laughter" and other funny stuff. Copy and paste the links into your Word File. Then write a bit of information IN YOUR OWN WORDS about the links. WHY do you like them? WHY are they fuunny? and so on (See my examples at the top of this page).
Science of Laughter
Here are some sites dealing with the science of laughter. Why do people laugh? What are some of the benefits of laughter? What makes YOU laugh?
Serious Laughter
New Scientist
Humour
How Stuff Works
Happiness
Laughter Clubs
Laughter Clubs began in 1995 in India, by an Indian doctor. Since then they have spread all over the world. There are now more than 5,000 laughter clubs around the world. There are even some in Japan. I was really surprised when I found one in Nagoya! Click on this link to find information about WHY Laughter Clubs began. Here are some sites from YouTube:
This clip shows a Laughter Yoga Session In Tokyo:
Benefits of Laughter Yoga with John Cleese. Famous British comedian goes to India to find out about Laughter Yoga. Click on this link to see him in action.
Comedy & Funny Stuff
This is my favourite one. It shows Rowan Atkinson (Before he played the character Mr Bean). It's very simple. He walks along the road and notices a Cameraman on the other side of the road. He says "hello" and keeps waving to him. But he doesn't look where he's going. First he accidentally walks into a lamppost, because he is too busy watching the cameraman. In the next scene he almost walks into another lamppost doing exactly the same thing. This time, however, he manages to avoid walking into the lamppost. But instead, he falls down a hole! I think that his facial expression is so funny. Find out what happens by clicking on this link.
Patch Adams
Here are some sites about Patch Adams. Who was he? What did he do? What was his job? Why was he so different to other (conventional) doctors?
I think that it's interesting because Patch Adams was a real doctor that realised the importance of humour in hospitals: he knew very well about the benefits of laughter. Anyway, he became so famous in the USA (and around the world) for his work that his life story was made into movie starring Robbin Willams. This one is a bit difficult, but it's well written and has a lot of interesting information.
Task
Work together as a group collecting important and useful information about "humour", "laughter" and other funny stuff. Copy and paste the links into your Word File. Then write a bit of information IN YOUR OWN WORDS about the links. WHY do you like them? WHY are they fuunny? and so on (See my examples at the top of this page).
Some sites dealing with laughter
(1) INTERESTING INFORMATION ABOUT LAUGHTER
Science of Laughter
Here are some sites dealing with the science of laughter. Why do people laugh?
What are some of the benefits of laughter?
What makes YOU laugh?
Serious Laughter
New Scientist
Lighten up with Humor
How Stuff Works
Happiness
Laughter Clubs
Laughter Clubs began in 1995 in India, by an Indian doctor. Since then they have spread all over the world. There are now more than 5,000 laughter clubs around the world. There are even some in Japan. I was really surprised when I found one in Nagoya! Click on this link to find information about WHY Laughter Clubs began.
http://nagoyalaughterclub.blogspot.com/
Here are some sites from YouTube:
This clip shows a Laughter Yoga Session In Tokyo:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO4Ak3fYAj8
Benefits of Laughter Yoga with John Cleese. Famous British comedian goes to India to find out about Laughter Yoga. Click on the link to see him in action.http://www.bebo.com/FlashBox.jsp?FlashBoxId=3597648222
(2) COMEDY & OTHER FUNNY STUFF
This is my favourite one. It shows Rowan Atkinson (Before he played the character Mr Bean). It's very simple. He walks along the road and notices a Cameraman on the other side of the road. He says "hello" and keeps waving to him. But he doesn't look where he's going. First he accidentally walks into a lamppost, because he is too busy watching the cameraman. In the next scene he almost walks into another lamppost doing exactly the same thing. This time, however, he manages to avoid walking into the lamppost. But instead, he falls down a hole! I think that his facial expression is so funny. Find out what happens by clicking on this link.
Patch Adams
Here are some sites about Patch Adams. Who was he? What did he do? What was his job? Why was he so different to other (conventional) doctors?
http://www.chy.com.au/patch.htm
I think that it's interesting because Patch Adams was a real doctor that realised the importance of humour in hospitals: he knew very well about the benefits of laughter. Anyway, he became so famous in the USA (and around the world) for his work that his life story was made into movie starring Robbin Willams. This one is a bit difficult, but it's well written and has a lot of interesting information.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patch_Adams
Task
Work together as a group collecting important and useful information about "humour", "laughter" and other funny stuff. Copy and paste the links into your Word File. Then write a bit of information IN YOUR OWN WORDS about the links. WHY do you like them? WHY are they fuunny? and so on (See my examples at the top of this page).
(1) INTERESTING INFORMATION ABOUT LAUGHTER
Science of Laughter
Here are some sites dealing with the science of laughter. Why do people laugh?
What are some of the benefits of laughter?
What makes YOU laugh?
Serious Laughter
New Scientist
Lighten up with Humor
How Stuff Works
Happiness
Laughter Clubs
Laughter Clubs began in 1995 in India, by an Indian doctor. Since then they have spread all over the world. There are now more than 5,000 laughter clubs around the world. There are even some in Japan. I was really surprised when I found one in Nagoya! Click on this link to find information about WHY Laughter Clubs began.
http://nagoyalaughterclub.blogspot.com/
Here are some sites from YouTube:
This clip shows a Laughter Yoga Session In Tokyo:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO4Ak3fYAj8
Benefits of Laughter Yoga with John Cleese. Famous British comedian goes to India to find out about Laughter Yoga. Click on the link to see him in action.http://www.bebo.com/FlashBox.jsp?FlashBoxId=3597648222
(2) COMEDY & OTHER FUNNY STUFF
This is my favourite one. It shows Rowan Atkinson (Before he played the character Mr Bean). It's very simple. He walks along the road and notices a Cameraman on the other side of the road. He says "hello" and keeps waving to him. But he doesn't look where he's going. First he accidentally walks into a lamppost, because he is too busy watching the cameraman. In the next scene he almost walks into another lamppost doing exactly the same thing. This time, however, he manages to avoid walking into the lamppost. But instead, he falls down a hole! I think that his facial expression is so funny. Find out what happens by clicking on this link.
Patch Adams
Here are some sites about Patch Adams. Who was he? What did he do? What was his job? Why was he so different to other (conventional) doctors?
http://www.chy.com.au/patch.htm
I think that it's interesting because Patch Adams was a real doctor that realised the importance of humour in hospitals: he knew very well about the benefits of laughter. Anyway, he became so famous in the USA (and around the world) for his work that his life story was made into movie starring Robbin Willams. This one is a bit difficult, but it's well written and has a lot of interesting information.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patch_Adams
Task
Work together as a group collecting important and useful information about "humour", "laughter" and other funny stuff. Copy and paste the links into your Word File. Then write a bit of information IN YOUR OWN WORDS about the links. WHY do you like them? WHY are they fuunny? and so on (See my examples at the top of this page).
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
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