Expressing opinions

Hello, my name is Kazuaki Kawashima. But call me Kazu as a nickname if you want. This is my first posting to a weblog.

Sometimes the Japanese are described as shy or as people who usually do not insist on their opinions in public. But I would like to introduce to you a high school student who forcefully expressed his ideas about the environment and the oceans. He won the 1st prize of the Prince Takamado Trophy English Oratorical Contest in 1999.

This boy encountered whales and dolphins in his summer vacation and through this experience he learned something. It is very good to base our thoughts and acts on our experiences, I think. He suggested that we should take steps to protect our land and to stop pollution. Actually, he puts his insight into practice: he picks up cans and litter on his way home, which is a good step to take. He also conducted a little research on dolphins, whales and pollution.

What do you think about his speech? I agree with his ideas. We are facing serious pollution and we should know that there are a lot of animals that are on the edge of extinction or endangered.

This boy expresses his opinion in an English speech, but there are lots of students who are expressing their feelings or ideas in many other ways. I appreciate these people because they enable us to learn and think about issues.

By the way, this is my speech when I was a junior high school student. In fact I participated in the same English Oratorical Contest. So please check it out and let me know what you think.

Musicism

I play the guitar in my spare time or on rainy days. In the morning or in the afternoon, I play some tunes and sing songs. I never do it in front of you all, but I wish I could in the future. Maybe I will. Maybe. Not sure.

I play the piano, too. I can play the guitar better than the piano, but I often play it at midnight with headphones. I can't sing while playing the piano, but I'm making an effort to learn it.

Playing the instruments is a recreation for me.

My works!

Hi everyone! What do you do in your spare time or on rainy days? I usually do some sewing when I don't have anything special to do. You may ask what I make, so let me show you some of my works.

I made this bag about two years ago, but I don't use it so often. That is because I need a stronger bag to carry my dictionaries when I go to university.

This is the most recent work! I wanted a blouse for this summer and I decided to make one by myself. I used a piece of cloth which my mother had bought a long time ago.

This is a piece I made last summer. I wanted a pretty skirt but I couldn't find a nice one at the shops.

When I sew while listening to my favorite music and having a cup of coffee, I feel very happy. I like sewing not only because I can make clothes I like, but also because I get great satisfaction from making clothes as if they were for sale!

A Traffic Sign

There is a wide road near my house, but we are restricted to a speed of 15 kilometers an hour there. Though nearby there is an omi-kenshi , a spinning factory, I do not know why we have to slow down there. Do you think that 15 kilometers an hour is adequate?

Mother's Day

My sister and I gave this pretty bear to our mother last year on Mother's Day. The reason why we bought it is that this bear is made of artificial carnation. My mother was glad to get it and we felt happy.

Sakura

This is a cherry tree along Isuzu River in Ise, Mie Prefecture. There are many cherry trees along the river. The riverside cherry blossoms are very beautiful and this place is famous with local people. Of course I went there to see them with my friend at the beginning of this month, and I took this photograph with my mobile phone which includes a camera. Don't you think I am a good photographer?

Madou Spa

Tonight I happened to watch a TV program about Madou spa in Tsu city. This weekend, the English Department is going there to hold a welcome party for the freshmen.

What is Madou spa? Madou spa is a Japanese-style hotel famous for its caves, which are used as a dining area. These caves have an interesting history. According to the program, in Edo period there was no modern-style detergent to wash teacups or pans. The caves were dug to get a sandy cleanser which was fairly precious in those days.

The cleanser is still sold today.

Snow tales

I went snowboarding in Myoko, Niigata Prefecture, during this spring vacation for the first time in my life. I was very happy to see so much snow in Niigata because I had never seen snow covering the ground completely! In Ise, my town, we have little snow and usually it melts soon.

I also saw much snow when I went to Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, this March, and I felt that the texture of the snow in Takayama was different from that of the snow in Ise. My grandmother, who is from Gifu, and one of my friends told me that snow crystals fall in the colder parts of Japan and that it doesn’t happen in Ise. I don’t know if there is any scientific evidence that proves this. Do you know anything about this?

Hello

Have fun.

Academy Awards

On 23th March, 2003, the 75th annual Academy Awards were held in America. Though I don't go to see movies very much, I took a great interest in this year's Academy Awards because the Iraq War broke out before the event. I watched the Awards on TV. Because of the war, the ceremony was very simple, and many actors and actresses made speeches about the war. I was very impressed by Nicole Kidman's speech. She won the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Bang!

There used to be an awfully breathtaking band on the Japanese rock scene: Blankey Jet City. They were a three-piece band and blew the mind of anyone who listened to their sound. You should confirm wether it is true or not.

Japanese English site

One of my friends recommended an interesting site of "Japlish." As you may know, "Japlish" means Japanese English, which only the Japanese use.

The author of the site collects a lot of pictures of funny English in Japan. He calls such incorrect English "Engrish." This is a little of an ironic expression, isn't it?

You should check out this site and learn how English speakers think about Japanese English. I hope you'll recognize a lot of things.

Morinaga Company

Morinaga is one of the famous companies in Japan. On their site you can get to know what Morinaga Company is, the company's principle, the president of the company, what they sell mainly, and so on.

Looking for lyrics?

Hey, I've found a site for getting lyrics! You can vist there and get or search your favorite artist's lyrics. You can search by the lyrics, the artist's name, and the song title. When you play English songs in teaching English as practice teaching, this site must be helpful for you. Of course me too!

I've found a nice video!

Have you watched any movies or videos recently? Do you have any favorite actors or actresses? I watched a nice video starring Jim Carrey a few days ago and I really enjoyed watching it. He usually stars in comedic movies but this video is not comedy, so you may enjoy his serious acting!

Domo-kun

Do you know Domo-kun? He is a cute mascot of NHK's BS2. The other day, I found an interesting passage from the Internet. That is "Domo-Kun acquired his name when his friend, Usajii turns on the TV for him and an announcer says "Domo konnnichiwa"("very much Hello"). " Have you known how to Domo-kun acquired his name? Isn't it interesting?

White Chocolate Berry Cheesecake

Do you like cooking desserts? Do you like cheesecakes? I like both of them, and I found a recipe for White Chocolate Berry Cheesecake. Doesn't it look so delicious? I'll try to bake this cheesecake when I have some free time. If you bake it, please bring me some! :-)

News

I found the latest news on the Web. I didn't know so much about the international situation, especially the Iraq War. If you want to know about the war, please see this site where you'll find the present international affairs.

Kyoto is wonderful!

Have you been to Kyoto? I visited Kyoto the other day. Kyoto is a historical city and has many famous buildings such as Kinkakuji and Nijoujou. I went to Kiyomizu Temple to see cherry blossoms. They were not in full bloom then, but very beautiful. There are a lot of places to go sightseeing in Kyoto! So why don't you visit there? Some interesting information about Kyoto is here.

Hideki Matsui

Do you know Hideki Matsui? He comes from Japan, and now he plays baseball in the Major League. I like watching baseball, so I watch koushien baseball games, which take place among high schools in Japan every August. I watched Hideki Matsui on TV when he was a student in Seiryo high school in Ishikawa-prefecture, because he was a member of the team. My brother and I have been Matsui fans ever since. The other day, he hit a bases-loaded home run! His profile and the details of his career are here, but this site is complicated if you do not know very much about baseball. I am happy because he plays baseball in the U.S.A.

New term

Today the new term started. I'm looking forward to seeing you again.

P.S. Ruedi. The spelling of my name is correct. That's right! Very good! My given name's spelling is "Daijirou" as you've written in Roman. Thanks for your effort and wonderful romanisation!

What is "http://"?

Does anyone know what "http://" stands for? Tell me, please.

Japanese characters

Character encoding on computers has always been a mystery to me.

I wonder if it is possible to post Japanese text to this web site. Would somebody please oblige and post a comment in Japanese?

HTML Tutorial

This course is going to be about writing, communication and discussion rather than about coding or how to make things work on computers. However, since you'll be creating hypertext, you should know how to create a hyperlink, which means that you should have a minimal understanding of HTML (HyperText Markup Language).

If you're entirely unfamiliar with writing HTML by hand, take a look at a short tutorial I've just put together for you: it's called Learning HTML in five minutes. Studying this page ahead of time is not a requirement for taking the course; we'll be going through this in the first session.

Sound Check

Stage – Tokyo, March 2003 (RKA)

Lipsum

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