MR6 Lilo & Stitch

I watched “Lilo & Stitch”, which is one of animation movies of Disney. I had not watched Disney movies for a long time, so I was a little bit nervous.

Stitch is a prototype made by Jumba Jookiba. The character is very wild like a monster. He has a strong power enough to destroy everything and it is his instinct. Moreover, he can reflect bullets, count faster than computers, and see things in the darkness. However, Union army is going to kill him because he is very dangerous for them. He escapes from there to use a small spaceship and he gets to the Earth. He is very injured by Union army, he falls over and Earth people save him.

Around that time, Lilo is living as she likes. She is mischievous and her classmates don’t like her. She has a sister, Nani, and Nani is unable to control her. One day, Lilo insists on her request that she want to have a pet like a dog. Therefore, they go to a pet shop and Lilo finds Stitch there. She likes him very much, but he doesn’t like her. She buys him gladly, but she gets upset because he behaves at will. As the time passes, they get friendly, but he is caught by Union armies. Lilo gets involved in his problem, but finally, the boss allows him to stay with Lilo. After that, he and she are good friends.

Finishing watching this movie, I thought it is interesting, but is also predicable. I could predict the whole story and it is correct. I don’t think it is boring, but I expected surprising things like a sudden reversal. Lilo and Stitch are afraid of loneliness. I was moved some lines that Stitch said “I’m lost” over reading “An ugly duckling” and “My family, I found it by myself” (I don’t remember the real lines). Finally, I have a doubt. It is that some people say Stitch is pretty cute. I don’t think so. There is no accounting for tastes.

Japanese cultures

Japan has lots of cultures. Many people without distinction love almost all of them.

One of the most famous cultural places is Kyoto. Kyoto has Japanese traditional cultures and historic architectures like Kinkaku temple, Kiyomizu temple, and so on. Many sightseers go through these cultures and are enslaved by their attractions. Some of them have much knowledge about Japanese ancient culture than that of Japanese. So much, Kyoto has great attractions for everyone.

Other popular culture is Japanese animations and cartoons. Pokemon and Ziburi series, Mononoke-hime and Tonarino-Totoro, for example, are loved by most of the people irrespective of age. Dragon Ball also is very popular around boys in U.S.A. and Australia and many other counties. Many Japanese animations are televised in Europe, America, and Australia.

At last, Japanese foods are popular in many counties as a health food. They are introduced in a health TV program. But some of them have peculiar taste, so foreigners can’t eat them. Natto and Aojiru are the typical examples. In contrast to them, sushi is the common food in Europe and U.S.A. In France and America, the shapes and taste of sushi are different from the Japanese. I have ever heard that a chef at a restaurant put chocolate source on it. That’s amazing!

Japanese cultures are very popular and changed those shapes or contains by many people’s hands or devices. Japanese cultures have been existed as the international ones all over the world.

Book review 2-12

I read, “Forrest Gump” made by Winston Groom. This is a warm and funny story about a good-hearted young man from Alabama, Forrest Gump.

He’s an unusual man, however,　he is very tall and good footballer and has a special power to play the harmonica without teaching from anyone. After college, he becomes a soldier and goes to Vietnam, where he meets two people, Benjamin and Bubba. He is active in the war, but he loses Bubba. After that, he meets the President of America, he goes into space and his best friend, Sue, is an ape. Sue did some funny actions in the story.

I think it is a little boring because it is different from that of movie. The existence of Sue and Forrest’s activities on Chess and Arm-wresting are not showed in the movie. I think these are an original story of this book. I recommend this book to read another story of Forrest Gump even if you like the movie’s scenario.

Book review 2-11

I read this book, “The Room in the Tower and other ghost stories”. The stories are mysterious and horror.

The first story is about a woman in a black coat. The main character was a woman who had an elder sister. The sister married a man and they stayed in Dublin, but she got ill and wanted to visit her hometown. The younger sister was happy for her visiting. However, she was dead on her way to home. After that, she also went to Dublin and married a rich man. She had a wonderful time, but she met a strange woman in a room of her husband’s house. She was afraid of her and she decided to return her hometown. She got the real happy life with her father and mother.

The second story is about a lost man and a mysterious house. One day, Imray disappeared and one of his friends started to look for him. He could not find him and he got a room of Strickland’s house. It was a good place, but there were some strange things. He saw a face through one of the windows from the garden and he saw a brown snake in the corner of the ceiling. The man and his guest attacked the snake and broke the ceiling. Suddenly, a thing fell down to the floor and it was Imray. He was killed by someone. The murderer, Bahadur Khan who is a servant of Strickland, admitted that he killed him. The mysterious story ended.

The third story is about a room in a tower. There was a dangerous woman in a picture in a room in a tower. A young woman married an older man and arrived at his house. But his dead wife was still there. A dead man walked through a house every night because he wanted the people there to catch his killer. Sometimes the dead returned…

I am too tired to write.

After reading this, I thought that it was not so scaring. The reason is that I am an adult and the stories are for children rather than for adult. I will read more horror one someday.

Yellow jackets

A few weeks ago, I heard a terrible story from my mother. The story was about a nest of wasps in an entrance of a forest.

One day, my mother and my little brother went to the entrance to clean my family grave. On their way to home, downing a gradient, he found some wasp flying about a tree. He noticed them and they followed him. He escaped from them in a hurry and went home as soon as he could. My mother was also safe. The big problem spread to neighbors. Finally, they decided to call a wasp buster. The staff worked well. The battle between him and wasps took about two hours and he could get rid of almost all them from there. He put honey with poison around the nest and there was no wasp after that.

Wasps are very dangerous. Their one or two attacks bring an enemy the death. Please be careful!

My new cell phone

I bought my new cell phone 2 days ago. The reason was that my old one did not work well because of the accident of the battery and electronic circuits. It often turned off the power suddenly, so I was in trouble. Then, I decided to buy a new one. The cell phone is wider and thinner than the old, but I have not got used to it. The buttons are a little bit different from the old, so it is a little difficult to control it easily. The model is W53S and I bought it for free by using discount points. Then, I have a big goal, which is keeping the new cell phone well at least for 2 years because I took a safety service. If I want to gain a profit, I must use the micro phone for 2 to 5 years without any troubles. The goal is very hard, however, I am sure that I can do it.

I will get a seal for decorating my cell phone on this Wednesday. I am looking forward to getting it.

Book review 2-10

I read “Alice’s adventures in wonderland” written by Lewis Carroll in last Sunday.

Alice was lying under a tree with her sister and she saw a rabbit wearing clothes. She followed him and she arrived at a strange house. There were many kinds of strange things. They brought various magical phenomenons and made her big and small. She also visited intriguing worlds and met a baby who was able to change himself a pig, a griming cat who was able to vanish, a person who was enjoying his tea ceremony endlessly, and a pack of cards. Finally, she found herself lying under the tree. Was it a magical dream or real things? She was under the tree and talked with her sister.

I had never read this story since then, so I could read this with fun. Every character was individual, so it became my memorable story. I wondered why the queen of cards was so selfish. Perhaps, all characters have fit minds. The stories are very creative and you may be confused by the story, but you will get used to it soon.

A Year-end party in Yamaga

I went to Yamaga with my family and my father’s friends as a year-end party. We visited an Izakaya, Sanroku. It was located outside of a town. Mountains and forests surround the house and some cell phone sometimes doesn’t work well. I have been there once and there is famous for Jidori, chicken meat. The menu is many kinds of meats of chicken. The food of third picture is Sunazuri, sashimi of chicken lever. The texture was a little hard, but it tasted good. The blocks of chicken were not cut small, so we had to cut them with scissors. They were so tough like rubbers and it took a little bit long time to burn them. We had a good time at the party.

MR5 School of Rock

I watched “School of Rock” made by Richard Linklater in 2003. This movie is comedy and the main character is Jack Black (as Dewey Finn).

He loves rock very much and has a passion to rock. However, He was fired from a bind and he spent dull time whole a day, but he heard news that a private school needed a teacher in stead of the former. He wanted a job, so he agreed the request. The school was very a famous school and the principle was very strict to keep the school well. He became a homeroom teacher, but he suffered from the atmosphere of the class. One day, he saw that the students playing their instruments well in a music room. He was moved the scene and asked them to play rock music. At first, they didn’t like rock, what is worse, some student were not interested in rock. Then he decided to force them to like rock and make a rock band with them. Their hearts got wilder and wilder. Everyone was in the rock world. The project went well, but it ended up wasted by a notifier. He gave up his goal and returned to the fallen life again, but pupils came to his house to wake him up and join a rock music competition. Although their team didn’t get the first prize, but the team got very popular and the schoolmaster got happy so much. After that, he enjoyed his life with teaching and playing rock.

After watching this movie, I was surprised the content because it was very unusual and very creative. The funniest scene was the ending. Dewey said a farewell lines with singing a song and the lines were for viewers. A comedy movie made this funny thing come true. I also like the character of Dewey. It is a great thing that a human has a big dream like him. The goal makes him/her hard. Although his actions were eccentric, they were the amusing points. I felt lucky to watch this movie.

About music

People have known music since ancient time. Moreover, it is a way to communicate with them. Now, there are many types of music, and music has become entertainment all over the world. Moreover, the tastes of people for music have become diversified.

So, let’s talk about several types of music.

The first type is Hip-hop. Hip-hop is very popular among young people in Japan. Hip-hop consists of four parts. It is Rap, DJ, Break dance, and graffiti. American and Japanese use the words “B-Boy, B-Girl”, but the meanings are different. In Japan, “B” means “Black” and “B-Boy and Girl” mean the people who wear Hip-hop fashion. It is only Japan that such an idea! In America, “B” has two meanings. One means “Breakin’ or Break’n”. Both words mean “Break dance”. The other means “Bronx”. Bronx is the birthplace of Hip-hop.

Second type is Rock. Rock has the long history and been changing the music style. Now, there are over 45 styles. Therefore, many people have loved rock for a long time.

The main feature is the sounds of the guitar, bass, and voice. It is the force that it is necessary to make people a captive for a rock singer.

Third style is Pops. Pops is the music has soft melodies and a jaunty rhythm. In Japan, the people define it “the foreign music”. The Pops music that Japanese is playing is called J-Pop.

These three types of music are the trends and the main genres today. Moreover, they will still be the popular music in the future, I think.

Book review 2-9

I read this book “Apollo 13”. I have ever heard the name, but I do not know in detail. Then, I decided to read this.

Apollo 13 was flying to the Moon on Monday, April 13, 1970. The pilots were Jim, Jack, and Fred. Jim had a child, Jeffrey and he promised Jeffrey to take a Moon stone home as a souvenir. After the space shuttle lifted off for the Moon, some problem occurred. The biggest thing is the decreasing of power and air of the shuttle. One of the oxygen bottles broke and it brought the impossibility to go to the Moon. However, thanks to the directions from Houston, they could get back to the earth. Although Jim could not get a Moon stone, he and other astronauts could take their lives home.

It was interesting story. It was also a historic event, so it is worth reading well. I recommend it.

Japanese snacks 1

Today, I talk about popular snacks loved by many people in Japan.
It’s ‘Umai-bou’ (A delicious stick). There are many kinds of tastes sold at many stores.
So, I introduce some tastes and make a few comments on each.

This taste is so simple that everyone can eat it easily. Moreover, it leaves a little sweet taste in your mouth, so you may be able to eat others one after another.

At first, you may feel the taste of sauce for a second, a weak acid taste comes next to that, and sweetness comes at last. This product includes some little green laver, so do not forget to clean your mouse.

Although the name is Gyuutan-shio, I think that the flavor and tastes are similar to a salted fried Chiese noodle. However, I love this taste very much.

I will talk about other taste in the next time. See you!

To be continued.

Book review 2-8

I read this book “KIDNAPPER” written by Robert Louis Stevenson. This story is David’s adventure and starts from a meet to his uncle. He is very strange and David feels uncomfortable against his behavior. One day, they go to a town and there David is kidnapped by a stranger, taken to sea and meets many dangers. He makes friends with Ransome in the ship, but he is in danger himself and is killed by Mr. Shuan who is one of the ship’s leaders. A few days later, a guest comes to the ship and his name is Mr. Stewart. David hears that some seamen plot to kill him, then he tells him that, and he decides to fight them with David. They manage to beat enemies, but a great wave hits the ship, and David wakes up to find that he is on a beach of an island. He is alone, but gets some important information. He decides to go to other town, where he meets a strange man and Alan Breck. Some people call him a murderer, but David thinks that he is a fine man and an honest Highlander. After that, he starts his travel with Alan.
I think the beginning is a little interesting and unexpected. However, as you read it, the story gets deeper and deeper. This is popular among English literatures. The writer is also popular, so please read his works like this.

MR4 Mrs. Doubtfire

I watched “Mrs. Doubtfire” produced by Chris Columbus in 1993. This is an interesting and heartwarming story. The main casts are Robin Williams as Daniel Hillard, Sally Field as Miranda Hillard, Pierce Brosnan as Stu, Harvey Fierstein as Frank, and Polly Holiday as Gloria and so on.
Daniel Hillard has his wife, Miranda, and 3 children. He loves them very much and has many kinds of voices as his skill. However, he does not like talk a serious story and Miranda is always busy attending to her works. One day, He held a birthday party for Chris who is his son with many people and animals. Then she comes home, gets angry very much, and divorces him. She gets the right to raise children and Daniel must find a job and make an environment enough to live with them comfortably. What is worse, he does not meet them except on only every Saturday. He begins to work for a TV station to carry files, but he hears from Miranda about a job of her house keeper. He decides to take this job and he gets it easily by changing his voice, wearing the disguise of a lady and calling himself Mrs. Doubtfire. Miranda and children liked her and they had a good time with her. However, Stuart who is one of her old friends also gets along with her and her children. On the other hand, the president of the TV station likes Daniel’s performance and makes a promise with him to meet at a restaurant on Friday. He is happy because it is a big chance for him to get a great job, but when he is Mrs. Doubt Miranda invites her to her birthday party at the same place and on the same day. He tries to pretend he is Daniel and Mrs. Doubtfire, but everyone finds who he is after all. After that, he cannot meet them without a supervisor, but he starts a new TV program and it gets very popular. Moreover, his life as Mrs. Doubtfire is a great chance each other to review each good points and bad points. She gradually begins to think that the best person takes care of them is Daniel. She allows him to do. Smile comes back to their family again.
I think it is not only a funny but also moving movie. Daniel is a wonderful father because he always loves his whole family. Actually, his behaviors sometimes get somebody angry, but it is the best feature. The most interesting part is Daniel’s behaviors at the restaurant. I felt funny his actions and reactions of customers. I think we cannot do many actions at the same time. However, I was moved the last part. I recommend for you to see that scene and this movie itself. There are many kinds of family in the world. I recognized the fact and the importance through this movie.

Health and Food

Today, the lifestyle of food is changing rapidly. Moreover, this makes children’s thoughts for the food worse and worse. What is the problem?
The main problem is having too many likes and dislikes for children in what they eat. Then, I expect that two main reasons cause this problem.
First, one can say the appearance of the fast-food shop and convenience store is part of the problem.
Second, it is how parents raised their children. Today, the breeding of parents seems to be short. Some parents have too much work and cannot prepare dishes for their children. As people can purchase many foods cheaper and easily because of the convenience store and fast food store, they come to use them. For example, the children who go to a crammer or have more time to be alone at home often eat a box lunch of a convenience store. As a result of this, the various bad influences; what they eat become fixed; the balance of nourishment gets out of shape and they can get ill.
Cooking homemade dishes is very important. Therefore, the main solution is making the time to cook a dish for the children. If their parents can do so, the cooking guidebook gives them many ideas and knowledge for solving the problem; changing the food’s shape or taste, for example.
In the future, the lifestyle will become more useful, but we have to be careful about our health.

Book review 2-7

I read this book "The wind in the Willows" written by Kenneth Grahame.

This story is about four friends, Toad, Rat, Mole and Badger. They have their favorite things, for example, Rat loves the river, Mole is afraid of things, Badger likes to stay at home and Toad is always looking for exciting new adventures, but he is poor at helping someone.

One day, Mole and Rat go down the river with a boat and meet Toad. He is very rich and always interested in new thing. He is now interested in a caravan and has it. Then he invites them to go anywhere for a few day by the caravan. On their way, a car driver takes a horn and surprises a horse which is pulling their vehicle. The horse runs away and their caravan and their baggage break up. Rat gets angry, but Toad is not angry and he is interested in a car. They return to their home and Toad buys an expensive car in the next day. As you can see, Toad is rich and selfish.
On the other day, they make friends with Badger who is an inhabitant in the forest. Winter passed, and Toad buys his second car, but the police are angry at his wild driving. They take him inside his room and locked the door, but he tells a lie to Rat, he escaped him room and drives a car. However the police arrests him, but he runs away from the prison. He uses many things to get away anywhere and Rat finally catches him flowing the river.
He says the weasels are living in Toad Hall and it amazes Toad. They begin to consider how to throw them out and decide to break in there. They fight them and win. Toad recaptures his home and he writes invitations for his friends to hold a party. He is still selfish but he gives people who are made trouble by him things which he uses at that time and he is not interested in cars.

There are many kinds of people in the world and some people have friends like Toad. I think Toad is the main character of this story. He was still selfish from start to finish, but he learned something important from his adventures. My favorite lines is this spoken by Badger “I hate it too, but we’re his friends. We have to tell him these things.” It is a interesting book, so please read it once.

The spiciest war in 2007

The spiciest war in this year broke out today!
I bought a strange beverage the other day. I wanted to eat or drink something very spicy today because I had taken a mistake in that day.
I bought these fascinating products in Seven Eleven and Lawson today. The left product is 'Habanero, the super tyrant'. The package says the spiciness is twice as spicy as usual one.
The right product is 'Jolokia, the great devil'. The real name of jolokia is 'Bhut Jolokia' and it is the spiciest spice in the world now! It is also called 'a phantom spice' and it means that few people can understand how spicy it is. the spiciness is about twice as spicy as that of hebanero pepper.
At first, I ate the left. The taste is much spicier than that drink I had drunk the other day. When I finished eating almost all of them, I could not help stopping sweating.
Next, I ate the right. The taste is more terrible than that of the left. My sweat began to run from my body since I had finished eating a half of them. In the end, I ate the rest of them at a stroke. I won the battle, but my tongue did not work well for a little. It bites the tongue.
Finally, I give you an advice. Please prepare something to drink by you when you eat them. A dairy product like a yogurt is better. I'm sure it helps you from the terrible spiciness.

Official site

Book review 2-6

I read “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” written by Mark Twain in 1885. This work is very popular in not only America but also all the world. This work had a big problem that discriminative words used in the play. However, it got popular and popular as the time passed.
One of reasons of the popularity is the existence of Huckleberry Finn. He solves problems to tell a lie, to get information, steal things, and so on. The existence to do such these behaviors is children, so Huckleberry plays them well. In addition, Huck is very active and loves the freedom, so the escaping from his father is very impressive.

There are other reasons why this work is very popular in the world. Discrimination between White people and Black people, the system of slaves are still big problem now. This theme is too deep to solve easily, but it is the key to get itself popular. It will have been loved by many people in the future.

A strange beverage in Lawson

I found a new product in Lawson today. This is the picture. It is "Tyrant Habanero pepper's delicious soup". The price is 120 yen. The message says that it is compatible with sandwiches or rice balls. The illustration is cool, but I do not understand why the character gets angry. It shows the spiciness, I think.

I imagined the taste was like a tomato juice with Habanero pepper's essence. However, the image was broken up by the real taste. The taste was like waterish Pizza-man sauce. If you have eaten Pizza-man, you could imagine the taste. This beverage's taste is similar to it. What is worse, it was not spicy and other taste like the flavors of chicken and vegetable are a little stronger than the spiciness. It is not spicier than a couple of drops of jalapeno sauce.

What I want to say is not to buy it. Do not buy it, or you will regret!

MR3 Romeo and Juliet

The third movie review is ‘Romeo & Juliet’. It is made by William Shakespeare and the most popular tragic romance in the world. I have ever watched old one which is made in 1968, therefore I could understand the story. However, there is some differences between this and old one.
The story is very simple and very miserable. Montague and Capulet are in an adversarial relationship. Romeo of Montague and Juliet of Capulet fall in love each other in the first contact at a party. After that, they marry each other secretly, and a priest, Lawrence, expects that this marriage makes the relationship good.
However, a case breaks it up. Tybalt of Capulet kills Mercutio of Montagu. What is worse, in a fit of anger, Romeo kills Tybalt. Romeo is banished from the country and Juliet parents force her to marry other bridegroom. Juliet consults with Lawrence and he suggests drinking a medicine which brings a suspended animation to her. She decides to do that, but Romeo found her dead later without any news about that. Romeo pulls his gun and shoots himself. Soon later, Juliet wakes up and discovers Romeo and she also died with his gun. After this tragedy, Montague and Capulet are reconciled in exchange of two lives.
The story is very sad, but the main thing is the love between Romeo and Juliet. The love is very heat like lava and strong like a metal chain. The deep eternal love is the main theme of this work. Actors are also important, but the core is the story. Frankly speaking, I am not interested in actors of this movie. Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio plays Romeo and Claire Danes plays Juliet. However, their performances, tools, cloths are different from old one. I think this work includes some director’s interest. Other amazing thing I noticed is the weapon that Romeo and Juliet used in the end. In the old movie, they used a knife and stab their chest, but they used a gun and shot themselves in the new one. I thought it was a symbol of the times. The new is much more modernistic than the old. Guns did not come out in the old time, but they spread in many countries now. The times’ feature was showed in the new movie.
After watching this movie, I was impressed by the story. People have ever heard at least the story, but it moves us every time.

Book review 2-5

I read ‘Stories from Shakespeare’.
I have written a post about a Shakespeare’s work, but I write about other his works.
The first story is ‘The Merchant of Venice’. This is one of his comedies. The beginning is that Bassanio asks Antonio to lend money to marry Portia. Antonio accepted his needs, but Antonio doesn’t pay back his debt to Shylock because of the lost of his possessions, and he sometimes is nearly killed by him. Bassanio worries about Antonio’s safe and Bassanio, Portia and other pals goes to Venice to help Antonio. Portia pretends she is a lawyer and say to Shylock an unreasonable demand. He gives up giving money from Antonio, what is worse, he must give Antonio a half of his entire fortune. Everything works out peacefully.
After reading this book, I thought this was funny, but the interesting point was that Portia helped Antonio. I was a little disappointed because I had thought there are more interesting points in this story.
The second story is ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. I have written this story once. Good points of this story are the existence of a fairy, magic, and the play played by workmen. It is a funny work.
The third story is ‘Hamlet’. This is one of Shakespeare’s great tragedies. The theme of this story is the revenge by Hamlet on his uncle, the current king. The king plots to kill Hamlet with Laertes. The king uses a poison, but the queen dies by it. Hamlet battles with Laertes, but Lartes is dead and Hamlet finds the fact from him. He kills the king, but he dies by the poison. This is very the tragedy.

After reading these stories, I re-realized the greatness of Shakespeare.

My memories of KGKS 4

Next is about the city of Leicester. This is “Clock tower”, and it is located at the center of the city. Therefore, people often use this as a meeting spot. Many big roads ran here, so we could walk around unless we forgot how to get there.
This water spout was near the city hall. People often had a break about it. As it was summer vacation, people visited there on weekday, not a holiday.

This building is “Leicester Cathedral”. People who are Christian visit there to pray. This is the inside. There was a celestial mood. I was fascinated by it. I took some stained-glass windows. They were so beautiful. One day, when I went across the cathedral, I found a car which was decorated beautifully. According to a person, a wedding ceremony was held on that day.

Ms. Tomoko who was the Japanese assistant told us a Chinese restaurant, and the picture is this, Ha-men. This was the best Chinese restaurant, I thought. However, there was a big problem. It is … this. Almost people have seen this character many times. In the restaurant, I found another one with color. But I forgot taking it. The hair color was black and eyes were red. It is a little different from Japan.

This is a big candy store. There were many kinds of candies, so one of my friends asked a clerk to recommend some candies.
Tomoko recommended this snack. It was very delicious and not expensive. I also recommend it!

My memories of KGKS 3

I write about my university in England in this time.
This is DeMontfort University. I went there for a month.
It was big University, and Kumagaku students studied in Clephan Building.
The first picture is the building. It is three-story and has a basement. The entrance door is automatic. It is very comfortable.
The second picture is the inside of the building, entrance hall. When everyone finished class, they gathered here and went for a lunch with their friends. Here is also used as one of gathering spots. People who had lunch gathered here and went sightseeing. Classrooms were simple. There were a couple of large desks and about 15 chairs. Each room was similar like this. We had 2 groups and each group had about 11 people. The class time was 2 hours, but we had a break about 10 minutes between classes.
The third picture is the cafeteria of DeMontfort University. It was smaller than that of Kumagaku, but a great number of students were there and here was like a carnival everyday. Madison’s system was different from Japan. When you order some dish, you have to say or point to the name of dish and tell shop clerk how you want to eat.

The last picture is a convenience store which is in Japan too, SPAR.

Book review 2-4

I read “Tales from the Arabian Nights”. I have heard the title when I was a high school student, but I did not know the story. Therefore I decided to read it.

This story starts from a king, Sultan. He hates women after his first divorce and he decides to marry a new woman and kill her when the first night ends. People are very afraid of him, and then a woman, Sheherezade, tries to stop his bad behavior to talk him thousands of stories. These stories are called “Tales from the Arabian Nights”. There are sad stories, funny stories, strange stories, exciting stories, and so on.

My favorite story is ‘Behind the door’. The main character is Salem. His father was very rich. When he died, he left his money and houses to him, but Salem lost the money quickly and he ended up selling his houses. He got poor, but an old man spoke to him, ‘Be my servant, and you will live in a better place.’ So he followed him and became his servant. He watched many old people living in his house. They looked unhappy, but he did not understand the reason. The men were dead one after another, and the old man also died. When he was dying, he told Salem not to open behind the door. However, he could not beat his curiosity, and after all he opened the door. Inside the door was dark and he went downstairs, and there he was caught by a big bird and he was taken away at a wonderful place. He met a beautiful woman there, got married to her and spent a wonderful time, but she said the same thing that the old men said to him. He opened the door again and went downstairs. Amazingly, he returned to the house which had stayed with old men. He tried to discover the way to return the wonderful world, but he failed.

I have heard a story which is the similar to this. It was “Tono story” which was written by Kunio Yanagida who was a great academian of folklore in Japan. The main character lost his way in a forest and he found a lodge. Inside of the lodge was very clean and there were many kinds of things, so he spent his time there. He could go out of the forest safely, but he wanted to go the lodge again. He tried to find again and again, however, he could not find it.

These stories are very similar. Therefore I could have a sense of closeness. I would like to read ‘Tono story’ someday.

MR2 'Kill Bill'

I watched ‘Kill Bill’. It is a violent and action movie. The executive producer is Quentin Tarantino.

The main character is a woman, the Bride. Assassins nearly killed her once, but she was saved. She was in bed in a hospital, and escaped from there. Afterward, she goes to Japan to meet Hanzou Hattori and let him make a Samurai sword. She practiced again and again, and then she goes to a Japanese bar, where she battled one of big enemies. The boss of the group is O-Ren Ishii. She is one of the members of a big brutal group. Furthermore, she was the very person who nearly killed the Bride long time ago. The Bride managed to kill her and seek other enemies.

I had never watched this movie since then, so I felt very nervous because one of my friends said it was very grotesque and aggressive.

The first impression of this was a revenge tragedy. The Bride and O-Ren Ishii had the desire of revenge. Ishii’s one was against people who killed her mother. The Bride’s was against the assassins who killed her baby and nearly killed her. When the Bride asked Hanzou to make a Samurai sword, her strong feeling of revenge affected his policy which never made swords to kill people. Ishii also went on killing the murders. They are mad. The vengeance makes people crazy, mad and aggressive. The movie shows such a human’s complex and ugly feelings.

The good point was Japanese people, Hanzou Hattori, Gogo Yubari, and so on. Their words were cool and interesting, especially, Mr. Hattori.

However, I think there are many bad things in this movie, but some people may think that these are good. The worst thing is bleeding descriptions and cruel actions, slashing neck, foots, and arms. When I watched the scene that the Bride slashed Sofie’s arm at the Japanese bar, I thought that she was like a crashed centipede. The place became the hall of a bloody party. These actions were violent and brutal, but sometimes I felt they were interesting. I think watching such a movie for a long time affects bad things to children’s feelings. I have heard cruel murder cases these days. I am a little worry about the appearance of such a movie, but some people like this kind of movies.

I did not have a good time so much. However, I sometimes feel like to watch such movies. If I have a chance to watch ‘Kill bill 2’, I want to do it.

Official site

My hobbies

My hobbies are too many to name. These are playing sports, reading books, watching TV and Movies, playing video games, and walking.
I often played soccer in my childhood. When I was an elementary school student, I always played many sports in a rest time. I played soccer and basket ball for 4 years. I read many books these days, especially, books for tasks now. However, I read light novels very much. A light novel is for every people and easy to read. I have over 80 novels now. I will read books more. I also like to play video games. I like RPG games, Puzzle games, and Music simulation games, but I do not have time enough to do them now. I am a little sad. Last hobby walking, is recent one. When I wait a bus for a long time, I am very boring. Then I start walking to the next bus stop. If there is much waiting time, I do it again. As I do so many times, I realized the fun of walking.

An American and an English snacks

I bought a snack in TOYSЯUS a few weeks ago. This is 'SNYDER'S OF HANOVER'. The price is about 300 yen. The taste is Creamy Caramel. There are many other taste, Chedder Cheese, for example. I like them very much. The reason is the toughness. It is a little tough, but Caramel pawder covered on surfaces is very sweet. The balance is very good for me.

By the way, when I went to England, a Japanese teacher recommended a snack to me. It was 'Shortbread Fingers'. The shape was like 'Calorie Mate', but it was very delicious! I also recommend it. I bought some as a souvenir.

Book review 2-3

I read this book, “The Canterbury Tales” and it was written by Geoffrey Chaucer who was one of famous writers in 14C.
This story was based on a travel of people for Canterbury. People talked a story which they knew by way of killing time. It was “The Canterbury Tales”. There were various stories.
In this time I want to write about ‘the story of the knights’. One day, Arcite and Palamon are imprisoned by Theseus. Then they see a beautiful lady, Emily who is the sister of Hippolyta, and they fall in love with her. As the time passes, Arcite is allowed to go outside the prison, but if it comes true, Arcite can not see Emily any longer and Palamon is by her. Arcite thinks it is an unfortunate thing and Palamon thinks it is a happy thing.
The scene is my favorite one. The change of their feelings by the existence of Emily is funny and interesting. What is worse, the friendship between them gets worse and worse. Finally, they put a period to their love for her to fight each other. As a result, Arcite is dead and Palamon gets married with her. The love’s power sometimes makes a fellowship worse, confuses it, and puzzles a person. Of course the power itself is also good, but it is true that ‘Love is blind’.
There are many other stories in this book, so please read it or them if you can.

New video game

I bought a new video game. It is 'Guitar Freaks & Drum mania V3', which is a music simulation game. The instruments are the drums, the guitar, and the bass. I am good at playing the drums (but I cannot play a real drums), so I enjoyed playing it. Moreover, Many kinds of music picked up in this game, and I was glad to find my favorite songs. However, I do not have friends who also play it around me. I want to play the session mode. It can play the drums and the guitar at the same time. My friend who plays the guitar is in Fukuoka, so there is no time to play with him.
Now, 'Guitar Freaks & Drum mania V4' is coming out. Of course, I often play it

Book review 2-2

I read this book, “The Phantom of the Opera”, which is written by Jennifer Bassett.
I cannot explain this story simply because I think the phantom of the Opera is not a bad man. His purpose is to teach to a woman who has a beautiful looking and voice, improve her singing ability, and to know a woman’s love. However, because of his ugly face and the name, everyone regards him as a bad man.
On the other hand, the singer who is taught by him calls him “The Angel of music”. He becomes not only an enemy but also a good friend. It depends on the person.
How will the story change if everyone regards the phantom as good? I am sure that if everyone keeps his promise, the phantom gives a woman the beautiful voice and the Opera gets rich.
Why don’t you think your own idea about the story? You may flash some interesting story into your mind.

Movie Review 2-1

The first movie review is ‘Toy Story’. This movie is popular among people all over the world, and there are many kinds of goods sold in many toy shops. The main characters are Woody and BuzzLightyear. All toys are alive and work when people do not see them.

I will introduce some characters. Woody (Tom Hanks) is one of Andy’s favorite toys. He is active and has a good readership. BuzzLightyear (Tim Allen) is the comer. He does not think that he himself is not a toy but a Space Ranger. In addition, he is made from Taiwan. Slinky dog (JimVarney) is my favorite character because his body is so cute.

One day, Andy who was the owner of toys got a new toy. It was Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger. He was the newest toy, so he had many functions which they had never seen. Andy also liked his quality and looks. Woody thought that he himself was the most favorite toy of Andy. However, as Andy was excited about Buzz, the things which is drawn Woody changed, and Buzz finally became his favorite toy. Of course, Woody’s feeling got worse and worse.

I can understand Woody’s anger and frustration. I think he is very proud because he has been the loved Andy’s toy for a long time. If someone suddenly comes and becomes his favorite, he may well get angry. However, it is natural for a child to change his/her taste. Andy is still a boy, so a new taste or interest comes into his mind. I think it may be a sharp tongue, but toys have their life called ‘A fashion’. If the time has finished, people would not pay attention to them any longer.

One of my favorite scenes was Buzz’s behavior in Hannah’s room. I burst into laughing at it. He realized what he was through the TV commercial. As a result, he became desperate. Although I felt sorry, his lines were interesting.

The other scene was that Woody rescued Buzz from Sid. I was impressed that Woody cooperated with Sid’s toys, considered the tactics, finally and persuaded Sid. I think the friendships among toys are wonderful and strong.

I think it is a good story because children could learn about the importance of taking care of toys. Sid who is a bad boy often tortures his sister’s toys. After all, Woody punishes him with them. It is an ordinary punishment, but it is enough to teach the work’s theme to children. I do not like Disney files much, but I like this. I want to watch ‘Toy Story 2’ someday.

My favorite singer

Yesterday, I found one of my favorite singer's web page. His name is Atsushi Shindou who is about 36 years old and active in a Radio program in Osaka. He used to be one of the member of 'Chameleon'. His voice is high and sweet. I like his songs, and I have lots of music files of him in my computer. The character are a crazy passion against a lover and life. I like his straight feelings very much.
His songs often used to appear in a video game, Pop'n music, and they are very very popular among people. However, his activity on the game was finished about 3 years ago. I was very sad and Almost people did not the reason why he retired the business.
His official web site One of his songs on Pop'n music 10

My memories of KGKS 2

When I was in England in this summer, I visited many places. My favorite place was the Warwick castle. It was so big and beautiful that I took many pictures of the castle.

Saying to a castle, I imagined a big gate, knights in a heavy armor, a castle wall, many kinds of weapons, and so on! My heart was beating fast during the visiting and I was very excited because visiting a western castle was one of my dreams.

Of course, I went to the lookout and the view seen from the place was so beautiful. However, the spiral staircase was very steep. Be careful when you go up the stairs, or you may fall and injure.

In the castle, there were many exhibitions, typical peer’s lives at that time, knight riding a house, swords, armors, lances, warrior’s helmets, and so on. The road like a corridor was not so wide, so I could not walk in the castle freely.

At an open space, a catapult show and falconry show were hold. I learnt the greatnesses of the ancient weapon and culture.

I wrote about a castle of England this time, but there were many interesting things in England. I’ll write them in the near future.

See you next time!

Wikipedia

Book review 2-1

I read this book, “The Prisoner of Zenda”. This purpose of this story is that Rudolf and Sept save the king of Ruritania. They must save him at once, otherwise he will be killed! However, there are strong enemies, Duke Michael and Rupert of Hentzau.
First thing I was impressed was the course of story. I thought it was very simple, but therefore it was very easy for me to read. My favorite story is Rudolf meets the Princess Flavia and falls in love her and pretends to be a king to get information about the safe of king. As the story pass, she also likes him, but they cannot marry each other because she is a princess and he is a fighter. However, his heart for her is still active. Who will win the heart of the beautiful Princess Flavia? The end is written in the end of the story. Please read it!
Second thing I was interested was the fights between the group of Rudolf and the group of Duke Michael. The engagements of Rudolf and Duke are very exciting. Will Rudolf put a period to this long fight? The end is secret.
I like to read such a story, so if you also like to read a book like this, please read it.

Autumn semester 0926 16-1

Autumn semester has started on last Thursday. I enjoyed my summer vacation in Japan, and I am making Mikoshi for 'The city parade' with my club friends, which is held on the next month.

In studying, I have a big goal which is to get grade A in almost classes of autumn semester. However, there are many big events in this semester, ‘The city parade’, ‘Sports Festival’, and ‘School Festival’. Because I may have to spend my precious time on preparing these, I am a little anxious whether I can finish this year safely, or not. There might be hard times, there might be hassles, but I am going to trying my best because I am sure there will also be happy times.

My memories of KGKS 1

I thought I should have written this post when I had returned to Japan. (-_-;)

I had a wonderful time in England and could make many treasured memories. I will never forget them.
One of my favourite memories was my second visiting London with my friends. The purpose of it was to visit the Abey road and Sherlock Holmes Museum. I like Holmes very much, therefore I wanted to visit there. I took some pictures of the statue of Holmes and Abey road. There are many visitors on the road because it is one of the holy grounds for fans.

About this writing class

I have taken this writing class in this semester and I had a wonderful time. I learned about how to use a blog site and write complex and interesting sentences. I have been practicing my typing skill over using a web site "e-typing". However, my typing speed and accuracy gradually get inferior.　I have to recover this skill as soon as possible.

I want to try my best in the next semester. See you.

WEI 3

How many words
in Week 1(April 11 to April 17): (233 words)
in Week 2(April 18 to April 24): (897 words)
in Week 3(April 25 to May 1)): (740 words)
in Week 4(May 2 to May to 8): (473 words)
in Week 5(May 9 to May to 15): (341 words)
in Week 6(May 16 to May 22): (1200 words)
in Week 7(May 23 to May 29): (222 words)
in Week 8(May 30 to June 5): (965 words)
in Week 9(June 6 to June 12): (474 words)
in Week 10(June 13 to June 19): (925 words)
in Week 11 (June 20 to June 26): (979 words)
in Week 12 (June 27 to July 3): (632 words)
in Week 13 (July 4 to July 10) : (420 words)
in Week 14 (July 11 to July 17): (266 words)
in Week 15 (July 18 to July 20): (348 words)
Total words up to this point: (9115 words ) [6470 + 2645]

How many posts
in Week 1: (2 posts)
in Week 2: (6 posts)
in Week 3: (6 posts)
in Week 4: (3 posts)
in Week 5: (2 posts)
in Week 6: (6 posts)
in Week 7: (1 post)
in Week 8: (4 posts)
in Week 9: (2 posts)
in Week 10: (4 posts)
in Week 11: (3 posts)
in Week 12: (3 posts)
in Week 13: (2 posts)
in Week 14: (2 posts)
in Week 15: (2 posts)
Total posts up to this point: (48 posts) [36 + 12]

Are all your posts labeled? Yes
Do you have a label element in your sidebar? Yes
Do you have a picture in your self intro? Yes
Do you have a feed in your sidebar? Yes
Do you have a list of links that feature links to 4 other students' blogs? Yes
Do you have Kumamoto Links in sidebar? No
Do you have other links in sidebar? Yes
Do you have reviews on Amazon (linked to from blog)? No
Do you have listmania lists on Amazon (linked to from blog)? No
Do you have any wiki or similar contributions (linked to from blog)? Yes
Do you have advanced media (Slideshare, Bubbleshare, etc.)? Yes

Link to your book reviews here
Review 1-01 (193, fair)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/05/book-review-1-1.html
Review 1-02 (202, good)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/05/april-24th-book-review-1-2.html
Review 1-03 (101, bad)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/05/book-revie-1-3.html
Review 1-04 (176, fair)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/05/book-review-1-4.html
Review 1-05 (221, good)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/05/book-review-1-5.html
Review 1-06 (406, good)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/05/book-review-1-6.html
Review 1-07 (381, good)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/05/book-review-1-07.html
Review 1-08 (323,good)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/06/book-review-1-08.html
Review 1-09 (297,good)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/06/book-review-1-09.html
Review 1-10 (215, fair)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/06/book-review-1-10.html
Review 1-11 (265, good)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/07/book-review-1-11.html
Review 1-12 (155, fair)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/07/book-review-1-12_10.html
Review 1-13 (133, bad)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/07/book-review-1-13.html


Link to your essays posted to your blog here
Essay 01 (200, fair)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/05/essay-1-self-introduction_21.html
Essay 02 (237, good)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/05/essay-2-japanese-culture.html
Essay 03 (222, fair)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/05/essay-3-my-favorite-animal.html
Essay 04 (223, good)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/06/essay-4-memorable-day-in-my-life.html
Essay 05 (240, good)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/06/worst-day-in-my-life.html
Essay 06 (324, good)
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/07/essay-6-my-favorite-movie.html

How many posts with link(s):with 1 picture/photo: 7 [5 + 2]
How many complex posts? (at least 2 links and 1 photo): 4 [3+1]

Comments
How many comments are there on your blog? 11 comments
Have you made at least 8 comments? Yes
Please link to the 8 comments you think are best.
http://shout-a-battle-cry.blogspot.com/2007/05/my-favourite-japanese-rock-band.html
http://shout-a-battle-cry.blogspot.com/2007/05/my-favourate-food.html
http://shout-a-battle-cry.blogspot.com/2007/05/puyo-pop.html
http://7th-tunes.blogspot.com/2007/05/mah-jongg.html
http://tbb19801.blogspot.com/2007/05/english-service.html
http://kiluregrumbling.blogspot.com/2007/05/golden-week_05.html
http://aoi-rav4.blogspot.com/2007/05/typing-test.html
http://invincibleteamhawks.blogspot.com/2007/05/my-hometown.html
http://invincibleteamhawks.blogspot.com/2007/05/may-3th-baseballgame.html

I made 9 comments.

Please link to your best non book review, non essay blog post. Why do you think it is your best?
My best review is here.
http://manatuki-april.blogspot.com/2007/06/book-review-1-08.html
Because I like this story and characteres. It's a fantastic comedy play written by Shakespeare.

Please link to your best comment on another blog. Why do you think it is best?
http://shout-a-battle-cry.blogspot.com/2007/05/puyo-pop.html
I chose this. the reason is that I like this too. I played it over and over again, I do not make great progress. I want to play it like him.