The Bread eater

I read in the news paper that the temperature in Hokkaido was 37 degrees Celsius last weekend. I have a feeling that this summer is gonna be really hot...and humid...
The other day, Ms. N told me some good news. Here is the dialogue:

Me: What are you going to do next weekend?
Ms. N: I am going to the pet shop, to buy a cage, and some stuff.
Me: I didn't know you had a dog. What kind of dog do you have?
Ms. N: Actually, I don't have a dog yet, but next weekend I am going to get one. My friend is going to give me a toy poodle. I have had a hamster and a bird before, but never a dog. It is my first time..
Me: Really?! That's great! I love dogs! Did you decide the name yet?
Ms. N: Yeah, "Pan-kui."
Me: What? Say that again.
Ms. N: "P A N ...KU I" (she said this very slowly) In Japanese, "Pan" means bread, and "Kui" means eat. And, I love bread, and the toy poodle is brown-ish, so I think it is a perfect name.
Me: I see. It is a good name, but you like soccer don't you? And now is the World Cup, so I think you should name the dog Maradona! The contrast between Maradona and a toy poodle is funny I think.
Ms: N: Maradona?! But he had many problems with the law...It is a funny name though. But I wanna name the toy poodle Pankui.
Me: It is your dog, and of course you have the right to decide what name you want...but, I like Maradona.

Anyway, I think Pankui will arrive at Ms. N's house sometime this week. It is exciting, and I think Pankui is lucky to be a new member of Ms. N's family!
My only advice to Ms. N is: Don't spoil Pankui!! And watch the Argentina soccer match together! ;)

Paraguay tidbits

Good morning. Well, game day has finally arrived. Tonight, from 11pm, Japan versus Paraguay. The tv ratings will be sky high, over 60% I guess. (FYI, the tv rating of the Japan-Denmark game, which began at 3:30am was 30%.) Will you be one of those people glued to the tube? I will.

In case you didn't know, here are some tidbits about Paraguay.
1. Paraguay is located in South America, in between Brazil and Peru and Bolivia.
2. In 2009, the population was estimated at 6.3 million people.
3. Economically, Paraguay is a developing country, with a large portion of the population involved in agriculture.
4. The official languages in Paraguay are Guaraní and Spanish.
5. Paraguay is about the same size as Japan.

And one more bit of info about the soccer team. This one is sad. In January, Paraguay's best player, striker Salvador Cabanas, was shot in the head in a Mexico city bar in the wee hours of the night. Fortunately, he was taken to the hospital quickly, and lived. Now, he is in rehabilitation.

Tonight, I am sure the Paraguay players will have Cabanas in their minds and hearts when they take the field...

Denmark tidbits

The big game will begin in a few hours. Before I go home and get ready for it, I wanna just write a few interesting facts about Japan's opponent tonight, Denmark. I will list the tidbits, so see if you can learn something new.
1. Denmark is about the same size as Kyushu Prefecture.
2. Denmark's population is about 5,500,500 people. That is about half of the population in Tokyo.
3. Goods are expensive in Denmark because the consumption tax is 25%. That's right, a whopping 25%!!! The consumption tax in Japan is 5% now, but the government is contemplating raising it to 10% in the near future.
4. 40% of the people in denmark commute to work by bicycle. (One reason for this is the tax on cars is 180%!)
5. Denmark is famous for fairy tales, and Legos. Did you play with Legos when you were a kid? I did!!
6. Denmark, along with Germany, is a huge beer drinking country. About 10,000,000 beers A DAY are drank in Denmark.
7. England is famous for the rude and obnoxious and crazy soccer fans who are called "Hooligans." But Denmark has their own soccer fans, known as "Roligans." They are calm and quiet.

Anyway, I am heading home now. May the best team win!!

Below is my favorite hang out in Honmachi: Utsubo Park

Rain...

This morning it is pouring. I got drenched when I walked from the station to the classroom this morning. But I am smart, because I always keep an extra dry set of clothes in the room, so now I am dry.

I saw an interesting article in the paper the other day. It was about the average working hours per person a year. The article compared different countries. Everyone always says the Japanese people work so hard, so long, but surprisingly, Japan was ranked 9th, with an average of 1772 hours worked per person a year. Americans, who many Japanese people think go home every day at 6pm and don't work so hard, was ranked 8th, ahead of Japan. Greece was ranked first, and Cheko(maybe the spelling is wrong...) and Hungary were ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively.

I think and know that Japanese people work really hard and long hours. I can not understand how any country can beat Japan, but according to the article I read, 8 countries to beat Japan.

How many hours do you work a week? Do you want to work more, or less? Do you work overtime? If yes, how often? Is it easy or difficult for you to take vacation?
These are some questions, some food for thought. So, think about it.

Below is Hokkaido...I want to go there some day soon...It is a small dream of mine. Do you have any small dreams?

Ipod stand, and some interesting statistics

First, I-pod, I-phone, I-pad, all of them are making headlines! And especially for the new I-phone and I-pad, people are lining up for hours just to get their hands on them.

If you are patient enough to wait in line, and lucky enough to get one, you might want to consider getting your hands on one of these cools stands (see photos below.) If I get I-phone, btw I am still thinking about whether to get one or not (I know, I know...it takes me a LONG time to decide these types of purchases!!) I am definitely gonna get a red stand!

I know many of you are already sick of the World Cup topics, but that's tough!! Just joking!! But seriously, here are some interesting facts and statistics related to some teams in the Cup.

First, have you ever heard of the Ivory Coast, or the Coast of Ivory? Well, you should have. Because it is one of the countries in the Cup. This country used to be the main trading country for ivory, which comes from the tusks of elephants.
Actually, this is the underdog team which I think has a chance to go far in the Cup. I am rooting for them.
Check here for info about the country:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%B4te_d%27Ivoire

Next, the statistics about Holland, also known as The Netherlands. (If anyone can tell me why the country has two totally different names, please do so. Because I have no idea...)
Dutch people have the highest ratio of bicycles per person in the world. 1:1.2 (That means one point two bicycles per every person.)

Dutch people also have the highest average height for men in the world. 181.7 cm.
Denmark, Japan's 3rd game opponent, is next at 181.6 cm.
FYI, Japan is ranked 23rd in the world at 171.6. (I hope the Japanese teams knows how to shut down big tall players...If they don't, they are gonna be in trouble!!)

The Dutch eat the most cheese per person of any other country in the world. 14.7kg of cheese per year per person. I heard they eat some kind of cheese once every meal, that is three times a day!!! Unbelievable!! If I did that, I would weigh at least 100kg!!!

Holland is about the size of Kyushu Prefecture in Japan. It has a population of around 16,450,000 people. Japan has over 120,000,000.

Anyway, today is a rainy dreary day, and according to the weathe forecast, it is not going to change all weekend...So don't foeget your rain boots!

Victory!!

I bet many of you are tired this morning from watching the big game last night! I was psyched to watch the game and got goose bumps when I heard the national anthem. Did you get goose bumps too? The first part of the first half was quite slow, not so exciting, but that was expected. And then Matsui's great cross, and Honda's finish! Beautiful!! (Did you knwo that Matsui plays in France, and many African players play in the French League? Okada Manager was smart to use him!) I haven't jumped up so fast in a long time. I was surprised that I can still move so quickly! ;) And then, because I had to wake up early today, I fell asleep in the beginning of the second half. When I woke up, I immediately turned on the tv to just check the final score. I believed that Japan would win, but you never know...And then I saw Honda being interviewed on NHK...with a big grin on his face, he said: "Yesterday was my birthday, and I guess just got it(=I have lady luck on my side)". I was relieved.

Below is some soccer, not football, English:
1. Cameroon was the favorite.
2. Japan was the underdog.
3. Japan upset Cameroon.
4. Japan beat Cameroon 1-0. =Japan defeated Cameroon 1-0. =Cameroon lost to Japan 1-0.

And, what do you think about those noisy, fly-sounding instruments? These instruments are called Vuvuzelas. I think they should be banned. The are really really annoying!!! And they really kill my buzz!!!

Read here for more:
"Buzzkill: Vuvuzelas ruining World Cup experience"
http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/news/
buzzkill-vuvuzelas-ruining-world-cup-experience--fbintl_ro-vuvuzela061410.html

If you are sleepy today, I recommend you drink one of these energy drinks

Recently I drink this "Happo-shu," malt extract, sometimes. The proof (alcohol content) is high, and is a low-calorie beer, so it is good for my beer belly

Rain

The rainy season has officially begun. It will become humid, very humid. And according to the weather forecast this week, it is supposed to rain almost every day.

And, the World Cup began. That means that I am busy watching many games. It is fun! And the U.S.A battled to a draw versus England on Saturday night. It was a good match!

And tonight, Japan versus Cameroon! Go Samurai Blue!!!

Are you gonna wear Blue clothes when you watch the game tonight? I am!

Do you remember these lights on Midosuji last Winter?

Billy

Last week, on my way back to the classroom after I bought my new spiffy sneaks, I saw Billy Blanks. Yes, the famous Boot camp guy. He was crossing the street with his wife and child in Shinsaibashi. I read in an article a while back that he was from Pennsylvania, which is where I am from, so I quickly decided talk to him and abruptly stopped and yelled out:
Me: He Billy, are you from Philadelphia?
Billy: Nah, not Philly. But outside of Philly, in Eerie Pennsylvania. Where you from sir?
Me: I am from Philadelphia, Cheltenham to be exact. You know where that is?
Billy: Yep, I do.
Me: So where are you living now?
Billy: I am living in Ibaragi. It is nice, quiet town, and I like running, so it is nice to run in the nature out there.
Me: Well, anyway, sorry for interrupting you with your wife and kid, but it was nice to meet you. Thanks a lot for taking the time to talk to me.
Billy: No problem, sir. Stop by my studio any time, it's right around the corner.
Me: Alright, will do. Take Care.
Billy: You too sir.
And we shook hands, and I went on my way.
To be honest, Billy was a true gentleman and unbelievable polite. He referred to me as "sir," multiple times. I am about twenty years younger than him. I was really surprised and meeting him and sensing his genuineness, was a humbling experience for me.
I really wish him success with his studio and life in Osaka!!

To change the subject, do you remember the title of the blog I wrote a few days ago?!
YES WE KAN!!!
Well, now there is a company in Tokyo which is selling T-shirts, and other paraphernalia, with this slogan! And supposedly, they are selling well!
Check out the article!
"'Yes We Kan' T-shirt is now in"
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100609a6.html

I wanna take a real long bath this weekend...

Yes we Kan!!


From today, officially there is a new Prime Minister in Town. His name is Kan. I do not know how much of a difference one man can make, but I hope he stimulates the economy and makes Japan a safer and better place for all people to live. And according to the poll below, a lot of people are optimistic!


"About 60% of voters optimistic about Kan: poll"
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100607a6.html

On to another topic, last week I bought a new pair of sneaks. I bought Mizuno. It was the first time in my life I have ever bought Mizuno. Usually I buy New Balance, but my shoe size is 29cm, and in Japan it is very difficult to find shoes in Japan. Most shops only have until 28cm in stock. But when I went to Spotoka, the staff was really informative and kind, and I liked the look and feel of the sneaks, so I got Mizuno. And, wow!!! They are really great! Because of the material, the are very light and "airy," the ventilation in the sneakers is awesome!! And my feet are screaming "I am happy!!" every day!! I love them!!

Dodge ball and Dennis Hopper

When I was in junior high school, I was a dodge ball champion! I loved dodge ball, and I was good at it. Have you ever played dodge ball?

My father sent me the link below. It is an article about dodge ball becoming popular again in Philadelphia. There is even a League now!

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/image/20100421_Dawg_years.html

Do you know the meaning of the word "dodge"? It means to avoid something, or get out of the way of something.

Here are some examples of how we use "dodge":

1. The Prime Minister artfully dodged the reporter's questions about the scandal.

2. Stop dodgin the issue!! Get to the point!

3. In the movie Matrix, Keanu Reeves got praise for dodging the bullets so magnificently.

(Do you remember that scene in the movie?)

Speaking of movies, I read in the newspaper that the famous American actor Dennis Hopper passed away. I really enjoyed the movies he was in, and I also liked his acting. My favorite scene of him is in the movie True Romance(one of my favorite movies...), right before he is shot by some mafia boss.
It is a little too violent and vulgar to link the scene to the blog, so I will refrain from doing so.But if you are interested, just enter "True Romance - Walken vs. Hopper" into You-Tube, and you can find it.

This weekend, I want to go out for some steak!

Breaking news!

Prime Minister Hatoyama resigned!

Adios amigos!!!

Sideways

Welcome to June! When I left my house this morning, it was quite warm and for the first time this year I didn't wear a long-sleeve shirt, or a jacket. Just a t-shirt. Today is sunny, blue skies, and truly summer-like weather.

Recently I took up cycling. So far I am enjoying it quite a bit. And the other day when I checked M's blog, I was surprised to read about his interesting episode. A loose translation of a small excerpt his blog about cycling, between him and his assistant, is the following.
M: Did you know that the human body is the main cause of wind resistance when cycling? This wind resistance causes you to slow down, and it makes it tough to cycle sometimes!!

(Please note assistant is not interested in cycling maybe, and only listens because she has to listen. Because M is her boss.)
Assistant: Really? Nah, I didn't know that.
M: Yeah, well that is why cyclists have to bend over and not sit straight up when riding, to reduce this wind resistance. But even when you bend over, it is still not enough...
Assistant: So why don't you position your body sideways...
M: I never thought of that...Oh my god, what a great revelation!

Illustration by Makoto

What do you think? Is cycling with your body positioned sideways a good idea?
I am gonna try it out the next time I go riding!! I'll let ya know the results next time.