Archive for August 2004
Three Little Mice
Gemma Metzger, Justin Rhoades and their little sonny Oscar arrived in Isobe, Mie-ken, three weeks ago. They have just set up a Web site named Three Blind Mice, which records their daily goings-on. As yet, there are only two articles -- both of which are richly illustrated with plenty of photos -- but the site is well worth a visit. It's beautiful.
Welcome, neighbours!
Comment notifications
Once you post a comment to a weblog, you might want to know if anyone responds to what you say. In most cases, you will have to go back to that weblog and check. This is not a big issue if you left the comment on a weblog you visit on a regular basis, but otherwise you might forget to return and check for new comments. This is where a notification feature would come handy: you'd subscribe to an entry and simply get an e-mail when there's a new comment. Aaron Campbell made the following remark a short while ago: "not having the notification feature is a disappointment and it largely eliminates short, offhand comments from blossoming into deeper discussion." True.
Well, I've just added a Subscribe field to the Tawawa comment form using Chad Everett's MT-Notifier. When posting a comment, simply enter your e-mail address and you'll be notified of any further comments. The Subscribe field is optional and your address will neither be posted to the page nor shared with anyone else.
Tsure-Zure
A while ago, we decided to remove Zemi Note from Tawawa and give the Japanese weblog a new home somewhere else. Now that the move is complete, we're pleased to announce the brand-spankin'-new Tsure-zure.net.
The new weblog is picking up where the old one left off; it also contains all the entries and comments posted to Zemi Note in the last twelve months. Redirects are in place that map the old URLs onto the new, so all old the material should continue to be readily available.
The site's name might be rendered in English as "unpremeditated" or "idle." It alludes to Tsure-Zure Gusa, the collected reflections of the monk and poet Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350).
Tsure-zure.net runs on TextPattern, a content management system created by Dean Allen, proprietor of Textism.com the web site and owner of Oliver the dog.
Japan's Greatest Band
Japan's No.1 rock 'n' roll band, The Yellow Monkey, dissolved on July 7th, but I only learned the news almost one month later from the newspaper. They stopped releasing new CDs a few years ago, so I almost forgot about them. But when I heard the news, I was really shocked.
When I was an elementary school student, I heard their songs on the radio for the first time, and at that moment, I became a great fan of theirs. I went to their concert when I was a second-grader in junior high school, and they made a huge impression on me. In those days, I didn't have enough money to buy their CDs, so I used to rent them at the CD rental shop. They were my treasure. Almost every day I listened to their songs on cassette before I went to sleep, and very, very frequently I went to the local book store to check out the music magazines and see if they had a new interview or not. I didn't have enough money to buy many magazines either, so I browsed them for a few hours. Some of my friends and my parents said that I was crazy, and my mother often said, "If you have any time to spare, you must study!". But I did not stop, or I could not stop.
When I heard that The Yellow Monkey were going to stop releasing CDs, I was saddenend, but I was also relieved because they were not dissolved yet. It felt like my favorites were in intensive care at a hospital and some doctor would surely save their life by any means.
I had not cared about them so much since they stopped being active. But when I heard the news of the split, I recalled what I did on that day. Maybe I went to university as usual, I took classes, and I went home. As usual, nothing special happened that day. And after I heard those news, I wake up, read newspapers, play with my friends, do a part time job or watch TV; superficially, nothing has changed in my life.
But I thought a few things. I still have some favorite bands now, but the passion is less powerful than it was in those days. I don't know why and when I became less passionate about them. Yet I thought that to keep the feelings, I must try to make some effort, or I will become less and less passionate about them. Maybe I was too familiar with the feeling.
But I do not want to make them a "memory" since they are living still now. It is very easy to say, "Thank you for all the memories," but I do not want to say such a thing even though I don't know what to do (continue listening to their CDs? Write about them on Tawawa?). So what I want to say is that while the band is gone, their music is still living. Their music hasn't changed, so I will continue to listen to it.
Camping
I went camping on August 4th and 5th with the students of the English Department. I enjoyed it a lot though the weather was terribly bad. The tropical cyclone suddenly turned into a typhoon and it hit the Kii Peninsula. While we were enjoying the barbecue at the outdoor kitchen, it continued raining heavily and the wind blew strongly. The campsite was next to the beach, so the wind was extremely strong.
Usually, the sophomores are in charge of preparing the meals.
Preparing rice balls for the breakfast.
A trip to Nagano
I spent this weekend in Nagano City, attending a conference organised by The Japan Society of English Language Education, a two-day event featuring over two-hundred presentations given by language professionals from across Japan.
Hayase-sensei, who was giving a presentation himself, accompanied me on the trip, and it was agreed that I was going to use his portable computer to project a couple of PowerPoint slides during my talk. Arriving at the hotel, I discovered that the slides I prepared didn't behave the way I wanted them to behave, so I spent a fair bit of time tweaking them on Saturday afternoon.
Later that day, before the evening's banquet, I paid a quick visit to the imposing Zenkoji temple, Nagano's main landmark. The temple is located about half an hour's walk from the downtown area, and the straight road leading up to it was cordoned off for a festival which drew large crowds at sunset, all moving up to the temple. Most people arrived in groups and dressed in yukata, a light kimono, that identified them as members of their group. One particularly large group consisted of middle-aged to elderly ladies in nicely designed yukata: walking slowly in double files, they performed bon odoru, a measured, meditative dance to plaintive music that poured from bullhorns mounted along the road.
I should have taken pictures, but I suffered from an attack of photographer's block, probably because I couldn't get my mind off the presentation I was to deliver the next day. Among the crowd, I also spotted a group of very cute pre-school children dressed in sailor suits made from white fabric and the British and the American flag, respectively. I doubt their outfit had anything to do with the conference, but I could still kick myself for not taking any photos because the Japanese kids dressed in Star-spangled Banners and Union Jacks would have made a perfect illustration for this post.
On Sunday I gave my talk on Tawawa. A big chunk of the presentation was devoted to weblogs in general; advisedly so, since few educators in Japan have heard of weblogs, let alone read any, or have thought of using them as an educational tool. While putting the presentation together, I was casting around trying to find a peg to hang it on; eventually I fell back on a long-standing grievance of mine, the apparent fact that Japanese schools don't teach English as a means of communication. So I pitched Tawawa as an environment in which students get to use English in real, honest-to-goodness, authentic communication. The slides behaved nicely and the talk went over quite well, I felt.
Among the presentations I attended, I enjoyed Emiko Horton's Developing Vocabulary and Listening Comprehension with Visual Materials the most. Horton-sensei uses flash cards with images to teach vocabulary to primary school children -- using English! Here at the university I've been going around for a while imploring teachers to teach their English classes in English rather than Japanese, and the usual reply I get is that it would be too hard on the students, who wouldn't be able to follow. Yet here's this teacher who teaches English in English to primary school kids, and she had a video clip that shows a class of very genki (as in: happy and active) third graders having a whale of a time in an English-language English lesson. Compare and contrast this with the Japanese-only, interaction-free zone of the English classes that aim to prepare students for university entrance exams. Amazing.
On the way back home I was traveling with Hayase-sensei and Wakamatsu-sensei. Somewhere between Nagano and Nagoya our train stopped dead for about two hours because of a very heavy rain which, I guess, threatened the safety of the rail tracks a bit further ahead. Because of the incident we missed the last train going from Nagoya to Tsu. We picked up a refund on the Limited Express surcharge, took the last train to Yokkaichi, and hopped on a taxi from there.
Oh, and -- ironically for somebody pushing the use of weblogs -- I didn't have Internet access for the whole weekend. I think I'll have to get myself one of those portable things with a modem.
Sweating
Recently I've been sweating more than before. It may be because recently I've been getting lots of exercise, swimming, singing, and doing gymnastics every day. Maybe the exercise makes my metabolism work better than before.
When I am sweating from excercise, I feel good, strangely. It's a new discovery for me, because I disliked sweating for a long time. I thought that sweating caused me only feel sweaty and bad, and also I didn't understand those who like doing sports in summer. But these days, mysteriously, I feel fresh when I'm sweating.
In addition, I've recently come to dislike using the air conditioner. Because unconsciously I feel unhealthy when I'm using it, while I feel healthy when I'm sweating in a non-conditioned room. Actually, it is a proven fact that overuse of air conditioners interferes with the functions of our body. It's terrible, isn't it?
I knew that sweating is healthy for our body, but it's only recently that I found sweating makes me feel refreshed, and that I understand people who like doing sports. It's a big discovery for me this summer, though it may be a very small thing for you.
Buying a Secondhand Car
One of my friends has a Rover Mini. He wanted that car for a long time and finally got it this year. He didn't care for anything but the looks of the car when he bought it, but now he regrets the purchase a bit: it often goes out of order! He bought it secondhand, so he knew it would need some repairing in the future, but he didn't expect that he would have to take it to the automobile factory so often. As far as I remember, he took it there more than five times since he bought it.
Buying a car secondhand, of course, has merits: it costs less than buying a brand-new car, and we can get a car which is no longer produced. With these merits, the secondhand car market prospers. I don't think there are so many secondhand cars which need fixing like my friend's, but I'm planning to buy a brand-new one for my first car.
Circle Party, Cont'd
Tawawa is a circle now -- a student organisation registered with Mie University. The circle aims to create an environment in which students can use and improve their English online.
We celebrated the transformation with a Circle Party last night, which was hugely enjoyable. Over a very nice dinner, we talked about lots of things, including a few possible changes to this site -- more soon...
Thanks to everyone who attended; especially Oli, who came all the way from the typhoon-tossed and seaweed-covered beaches of Anori.
I should have taken more -- and better -- pictures.
Oli
Masami
Ayumi and Yukiko
Ayumi
Masami, Yuko, and Oli
High School Baseball
I don't watch baseball games in the professional leagues, but I love the baseball games of high school students. In Japan, baseball contests are held every spring and summer, and the games held in summer are more popular than those in spring. This is because in the summer contest, every high school's baseball team can join without selections, and all of them can win on the strenght of their ability.
Then, each prefecture's winning team can join the national contest held in Koshien stadium in Hyogo prefecture. Joining the national contest is a matter of high prestige for all baseball players in high schools. Also, I'm not too familiar with this, but professional baseball teams scout for new talent in the contest.
The reason why I love the contest is that it is held once a year, and that the players play for all they're worth. Especially the third graders, for whom the contest is the last one of their high school lives, are very enthusiatic for each game. Since they have practiced so hard for a year to win the first prize in the contest, they will put in a huge effort and give their best in each game. So, even people like me who watch the games on televisioon, let alone those who watch the live games, can feel their zeal for the game, and we are impressed by their performance.
When I watch the games, I don't mind the outcome of the game so much. However, I want to feel the enthusiasm for the game and share the feeling of the players, if possible. When a game finishes, all the players of the defeated team will certainly cry bitterly with chagrin. Instinctively, I nearly cry myself and I want both teams to win, even I know it can't be done. But both their smiles and cries impress me deeply, and I want to give them frantic support.
The national contest is going to be held soon. I'm really, really looking forward to watching it. The games will surely give me lots of enthusiasm and make a big impression!
Summer vacation
This summer I'm looking forward to three things: camping, going to Kobe, and attending a high school reunion.
Camping with the English Department. I take part in summer camp every year. We usually go camping in Matsusaka, but we'll go to another place this August.
Visiting in Kobe. When I was a member of Mie University Dance Club, I went to Kobe to attend a competition of dance performances every summer. Although I quit the club, I'll go there and help my juniors.
High school reunion. A friend of mine sent me an e-mail and let me know that we'll have a drinking party in the middle of August. We haven't seen each other for a long time, so I'm looking forward to meeting them.
What are you going to do this summer vacation?