Huh???

I had planned to go hunting today. I woke up to the worst blizzard I have seen in 5 years in Sapporo. Instead of going hunting I spent the day shovelling snow, reading news websites and feeding my birds.

Back to work tomorrow!

Jus

My mother's Christmas tree and decorations

I got an email from my father. He took pictures of my mother's Christmas decorations and tree. Mom always has an amazing looking Christmas tree. My mother hand-made most of her Christmas decorations, including her collection of Christmas dolls.
enjoy,

Jus

Merry Christmas Day!

I had a good day today. Santa Claus brought me a new pair of Hunter Royal Hunter boots: http://www.countryattire.com/products/hunter-royal-hunter-wellington-boots--dark-olive.html and I am very happy with them.

I cooked Christmas dinner today. I'll tell you how to make a bread stuffing to put inside your chicken, then how to cook your chicken in your oven range.

For the stuffing you need 3 slices of white bread, 1 or 2 spoons of dried savoury, 2 onions, 1 clove of garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper.

Cut your bread into 1cm pieces and put in a big bowl. Cut your onions into very small pieces and put in with the bread. Add your savoury. Add some salt and pepper and about 3 spoons of olive oil or melted margarine and mix everything together.

Next take your chicken and open the bottom, between the legs. You then need to put all of the bread stuffing inside the chicken! Trust me when I say YOU CAN fit all that bread into the chicken. Push it in there! See? It does fit! Ok, now your chicken is stuffed and you need to close the bottom with some toothpicks or some string. I use toothpicks.

Now you should put your chicken into your roasting pan and heat your oven to 230C. I put black pepper and sea salt on the skin. The salt will help the skin to be crunchy (this trick also works with roasted fish). I cooked this chicken today for about 1.5 hours and it was perfectly cooked when I finished. I spent a long time sitting in front of the oven and just watcing the chicken to be sure it was fine and not burning!

Tonight's Christmas dinner was delicious. I hope Santa Claus was good to everyone!

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Jus

Merry Christmas!

It' s Christmas Eve! I've had a big day. I went to the zoo today to see the Komodo Dragon and for supper I made Nachos, which is one of my favourite things to eat. I only make it once a year. I'm gonna tell you now how you can make it, too:

You need a bag of Doritos corn chips and salsa (Jupiter in JR Tower Square), some mozarella-type cheese, some ground beef or pork, sour cream (Kaldi in ALIO) and some salt and pepper for the meat.

1st you fry the meat and spread about half your bag of chips into your oven dish.

After your meat is cooked, put half of it on the chips along with some cheese. Then, put another layer of chips and the remaining meat and cheese on top. Then put everything in your oven-range on 220C for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese has all melted.

Now set your table with the salsa and sour cream. I like to take a few chips and dip them in the sour cream or salsa, then eat them. Enjoy them with your favourite person.

Merry Christmas to you!

Jus

Goshawk's (オオタカの) Christmas dinner!

Here is a picture of KK3 eating his early Christmas dinner yesterday at Fushiko River.

Christmas CROW!!!

Justin

FINISHED!

Whew, decorating a tree isn't easy. Well, it IS easy but the difficult part is getting everything JUST RIGHT. I'm a little bit picky about Christmas trees, so I am glad it is finally finished.

I hope you enjoy the pictures. By the way, I will show you how to cook Christmas dinner on the 25th. I will post pictures of each step and give you the basic recipes. My Christmas dinner can be cooked by anyone in Japan with an oven-range (オーブン　レンジ). I hope you enjoy your weekend, everyone.

Justin

WOW!

It's been a long time since I posted on my blog.

I've been interested in the world economy recently and I've been following business news everyday. I think things will be bad, for a while. How bad? I have no idea!

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT, it's Christmas season and I'm in the spirit of the season.

I got some new lights for my Christmas tree, today. I ordered them from Hong Kong.

Here's a picture of my tree. I'll show you some more pictures after I put some things on it.

Jus

Snowbugs

Yukimushi translates to "Snow Bug or Snow fly" in Japanese. They are a type of white aphid which on close inspection are not beautiful, at all.. In fall they fly around and their white colour is a striking reminder of the coming winter.

Many people say that the first snows of winter will arrive 2 weeks after the first Yukimushi are seen. I saw some this past weekend but I don't believe it will snow for another month, at least.

Justin

The Sexiest Woman in Japan

This story is from Metropolis Magazine http://www.metropolis.co.jp/

I think Aya sugimoto is an important figure for Japanese society.

Please enjoy,

Jus

Aya Sugimoto’s name is synonymous with all things sensual. Since her ground-shaking 2003 divorce, in which she famously (and very publicly) left a “sexless” marriage, Sugimoto has become a flag-bearer for women’s rights — particularly when those rights involve sex and relationships. Her sensational views are backed up by edgy performances in film and on stage, and she lends support to causes ranging from animal rights to female independence. Sugimoto’s new project promises more of the same: an adaptation, using the sensual Argentinean dance form tango, of the true story of Sada Abe, the notorious Meiji-era prostitute who asphyxiated and castrated her lover.
Finding a connection between dance and the carnal passions of a failed geisha may seem a stretch, but in an interview at her office in Setagaya, Sugimoto displays the confidence that has become her trademark. “The passion of tango can be easily linked with the passions of Sada,” the 40-year-old says from her perch on a sofa. “But it is the passion of a Japanese woman that can’t be expressed by an Argentinean dancer. So I realized it could only be performed by me.”
Such a provocative statement is typical of the woman who almost singlehandedly brought the issue of sexual dissatisfaction into the national consciousness, and who has continued to challenge audiences through forms as diverse as film, dance and literature. “I’ve been frustrated for a long time that Japanese society is so feudalistic and conservative to art and eroticism,” she says, “so I’ve always wanted to devote myself to overcoming that.”
By all accounts, she has come a long way to achieving that goal. After enduring what she terms a “strict” upbringing in Kyoto, Sugimoto began modeling kimonos at age 15, and her career took off in earnest when she took up singing at the urging of her management company. A string of No. 1 singles followed; their titles, like “Boys” (1988) and “Gorgeous” (1990), hinted at the erotic cast her career would take.
In a pattern that she would repeat again and again, Sugimoto soon sought out new challenges. “When I began writing my own songs, the lyrics were quite erotic,” she says. “I realized I wanted to dig into eroticism more deeply, so I started writing sensual novels.” As an author, her published works include “The Rules of Supreme Pleasure,” “Immoral” and the book-length 2004 essay, “Orgasm Life.”’Sexless divorce’ became catchphrase
By the mid-2000s, Sugimoto set her sights on becoming a film actress, but before getting the chance, her marriage of 10 years to musician Toshinori Numata fell apart. The ensuing media storm — the term “sexless divorce” which she used to describe the situation, became a catchphrase — won her equal parts notoriety and respect.
“I thought that saying the word ‘sexless’ openly would help Japanese women start living freely and making choices for themselves,” she says. “They are still so conservative and feel guilty expressing their real feelings. Even if a woman wants to end her marriage because it is sexless, she has to fear being misunderstood or accused of not being patient enough.”
With the trauma of her divorce behind her, Sugimoto then took the biggest risk her career, accepting the lead role in a remake of Masaru Konuma’s 1974 film “Hana to Hebi” (“Flower and Snake”). In the 2004 version, she plays a businessman’s wife who is sold into sexual slavery at the behest of a yakuza boss. The film required Sugimoto to spend 70% of her screen time unclothed and indulging in masochistic acts.
“At first glance, you would think the main character was treated with indignity because she’s tied up,” she says. “But you can turn it around and see that many men were working hard for her, almost as if they are worshipping her. I don’t believe that masochists are ruled by sadists.”
By now, Sugimoto has become that rarest of sex symbols, one who is esteemed by men and women alike. She dispenses advice on sexual health and relationships on the TV Tokyo talk show “Yearnings of a Goddess” and, more playfully, has served as a spokeswoman for Bust Up Drops, a dietary supplement said to increase a woman’s breast size. In 2006, Sugimoto was selected as the fourth sexiest woman in Asia by Playboy magazine — which is ironic, as the voters were the same Japanese men she terms “cowards” for not doing enough to satisfy their women.
Further wanting to test her limits, Sugimoto came closest to crossing the line from erotic art to straight-up pornography in the TV show “Shimokita Glory Days,” a manga-inspired comedy-drama that aired in 2006. She appeared opposite several AV stars, including the most famous proponent of the adult film genre, Sola Aoi. Not that she was ashamed of the work. “Society can’t consist only of ‘high-quality’ elements, and that’s also true for visual eroticism as well,” she says.Happy to see young women expressing themselves
Although Sugimoto’s public persona may be intimidating in a culture that prefers anonymity to candor, it’s interesting to learn that she shares many of the same views as other Japanese women. The difference is that she’s more prone to speak her mind—and is rarely without an opinion. Discussing the recent craze for ero-kawaii (“erotic-cute”) fashion, she says she’s happy that young women are expressing themselves.
“It would be difficult to wear clothes like that if it were not accompanied by a new kind of spirit,” she explains. “When I wore the same types of sexy clothes in the ’80s and ’90s, it caused a stir.”
Thanks in part to this new spirit of erotic openness that she herself helped to create, Sugimoto isn’t surprised at the eager reception of the American TV show and movie “Sex and the City.” Yet her own feelings about its impact are ambivalent. Though she attended the Japan premiere, where she mingled with such stars as Jason Lewis, she’s dismayed that so much attention is focused on inanities like the stars’ fashion.
“I’ve noticed that the most popular character in Japan was Samantha,” she says, referring to the show’s sex-obsessed vixen. “I feel Japanese women want to live strongly, freely and powerfully like her. But when you seek freedom, you also need to be ready to assume responsibility. That might still take some time.”
It’s precisely this immaturity, Sugimoto believes, that causes Japanese women to score low in international rankings of sexual satisfaction, most famously the annual Durex Global Sexual Wellbeing Survey. But she’s adamant that blame lies on both sides of the bed. “There are some men who say, ‘I don’t bring sex into the home, I just do it with other women away from home.’ We shouldn’t allow them to say something like that! Japanese women allow men too much — we need to show more effort and energy.”
Sugimoto herself is waging a one-woman crusade to urge men to change their mentality, which she playfully dubs the “Latinize Japan Project.” “Japanese men have been put under a spell by society, and they are cowards. It would be wonderful if they were able to adopt the charms foreign men have,” she says.
As she enters an age where many “idols” tone down their activities, Sugimoto remains as busy as ever. The upcoming performance of “Tango Nostalgia” is an outgrowth of her appearances on “Uri Nari Geinojin Shako Dansu-bu,” a kind of Japanese version of “Dancing with the Stars” in which she and her partner, comedian Kiyotaka Nanbara, consistently ranked highly. As she enters her fifth decade, Sugimoto also takes inspiration from 69-year-old Italian singer Milva (“She’s still sexy and cute”) and 50-year-old Madonna.
“I’ve become stronger with age — strength that comes from peace of mind and emotional stability,” she says. “I feel my senses have been refined. What being ‘sexy’ or ‘erotic’ comes down to is having a profound ability to be attuned and sensitized to life and your surroundings.”
Even when speaking informally, Sugimoto’s words carry a weight of experience, and no topic is too taboo. Discussing her onscreen lesbian and bondage scenes, she extols the virtues of sexual experimentation. “As I become more mature, I think the most important thing is to know what you really want. If you like it, you don’t need to hide it. The only way you’ll never get satisfaction is if you don’t know what you really want.”
Whether she herself will ever again find satisfaction with a life partner remains to be seen. Sugimoto admits to a fear of marriage as an institution, and has recently said that she’d never marry again. “It is more important to know if we really need to be with each other than believe in the system itself and take the relationship for granted. We can’t build a good relationship if we don’t appreciate our daily life,” she says.
As Sugimoto graciously leads us out of Office Aya, walking tall, elegant and proud, her courteousness hints at the compassionate woman behind the tenacious, spirited persona. A Latin spirit always needs real love to fuel the fire.
Aya Sugimoto stars in “Tango Nostalgia” Nov 21-24 at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel.

Asian Superheroes

I found this intersting story today on http://www.japantoday.com/.

Asian superheroes come to rescue of region's film industry
BUSAN, South Korea —
Asian filmmakers who have watched in envy as U.S. superheroes have won billions at the international box office are determined not to let Hollywood have everything its own way.
At this week’s 13th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), a buzz has been building about a Korean production that looks set to take on Batman, Iron Man and Spider-Man at their own game.
On the sidelines of the festival, industry insiders have been rallying support for Asia’s own brand of superhero.
The $12 million “Jeon Woo Chi” has been the talk of the festival with its producer Lee Eugene calling it the “most anticipated project in Korea.”
Featuring Korean superstars Gang Dong-won, Lim Soo-jung and Kim Yun-seok, it follows a time-traveling Taoist magician and his fight against a band of nasty goblins.
Lee hopes the film will take on Hollywood’s blockbusters when it is released next summer and its anticipated four-month shooting schedule is one of the longest in Korean film history.
“It’s going to be very different from a Hollywood clear-cut ‘good’ superhero,” Lee told reporters. “Jeon Woo Chi is a rascal and quite mischievous.”
The film is certainly up against the odds when it comes to box office figures, as Hollywood’s current trend of plundering America’s comic book back catalogue is reaping huge rewards.
The latest edition of the Batman franchise, “The Dark Knight,” earned more than $460 million in foreign ticket sales alone, while “Iron Man” with $253 million, and “Spider-Man 3” with $554 million, also enjoyed massive paydays from the international market.
To Asia’s embattled local film industries, hit hard both by poor box office returns and dwindling production numbers, these are figures beyond the wildest of dreams.
But that doesn’t mean Asian filmmakers are not going to put up a fight.
PIFF has this year included a Superheroes in Asia section featuring 11 regional films from the past half century, which have been enthusiastically received.
“In Japan, we have had our own heroes such as Ultraman since the 1960s,” said Japanese film producer Shozo Ichiyama.
“The important factor is you have to make your heroes different from the United States’ ones. That’s why one of our Japanese heroes, Gekko Kamen (a masked Japanese avenger on a motorcycle), has a motto ‘Don’t kill him, forgive him.’ It is different from the American mindset.”
In recent times, local box office heroes such as India’s time-traveling Krrish and Malaysia’s Cicakman, part man, part lizard, part legend—both featured in Busan—have managed to stand up to the Hollywood challenge.
Veteran Philippine film critic Edward Cabagnot says history has shown that smart Asian filmmakers have been able to look to the West and learn.
“We love our heroes in Asia,” he says. “In the Philippines for example we have taken what America has given us and made it local. That’s why a character such as our Darna, who has been around since the 1950s, is basically Wonder Woman but with local characteristics. Like Philippine society itself, her stories are a mix of Catholic guilt with Hollywood glamour.”
Perhaps the only film region in the world to keep Hollywood’s heroes at bay has been India, where “Spider-Man 3” failed to make the box office top 20, pulling in just $380,000.
“The reasons for this are simple,” said critic Meenakshi Shedde. “Indian cinema already has a sense of the fantastic, so the audience is not impressed with Hollywood heroes.
“Just take a look at what your average Bollywood hero does during the course of a film—he can fight, sing, dance and basically do anything he wants. So nothing American cinema does really surprises or impresses us.”
Just why we seem to love superheroes so much was another matter up for debate in Busan.
Joo Youshin, who lectures in cinema theory at Yongsan University in Seoul, believes the success of the Hollywood heroes reflects universal human desires.
“They speak to us about the contradictions we feel in society everywhere,” she says. “And sometimes they reflect our psyche too.”
But Cabagnot has a simpler explanation. “Sometimes we just like them because they are sexy,” he says.
“In Asia, of course we can copy this. It is how we can be successful. And no one has the copyright on sexy. Not even Hollywood.”

OK, listen! Sarah Palin is NUTS! Or really stupid. I'm not sure which.

I found this story today. I almost couldn't believe it.

The LA Times reports:

Soon after Sarah Palin was elected mayor of the foothill town of Wasilla, Alaska, she startled a local music teacher by insisting in casual conversation that men and dinosaurs coexisted on an Earth created 6,000 years ago -- about 65 million years after scientists say most dinosaurs became extinct -- the teacher said.

Palin told him that "dinosaurs and humans walked the Earth at the same time," Munger said. When he asked her about prehistoric fossils and tracks dating back millions of years, Palin said "she had seen pictures of human footprints inside the tracks," recalled Munger, who teaches music at the University of Alaska in Anchorage and has regularly criticized Palin in recent years on his liberal political blog, called Progressive Alaska.

The idea of a "young Earth" -- that God created the Earth about 6,000 years ago, and dinosaurs and humans coexisted early on -- is a popular strain of creationism.

Though in her race for governor she called for faith-based "intelligent design" to be taught along with evolution in Alaska's schools, Gov. Palin has not sought to require it, state educators say.

In a widely-circulated interview, Hollywood star Matt Damon said of Palin, "I need to know if she really thinks that dinosaurs were here 4000 years ago. I want to know that, I really do. Because she's gonna have the nuclear codes."

Drugs in Sumo. But What About the Steroids?

BY CB Liddell

In their 2005 book “Freakonomics,” Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner found that sumo was fixed. The proof was in the fact that wrestlers going into the final day of a tournament with a 7-7 record, and therefore needing to win their final bout to maintain their rank, were victorious 80% of the time against wrestlers who were already safe with 8-6 records.
Levitt and Dubner also found that the “winning” wrestler also tended to repay the favor at the next tournament, losing 60% of the matches against the same opponent. Although not hard evidence, this kind of statistical analysis can often be consistent enough to point an accusing finger at a sport that has come under an increasingly negative spotlight in recent months.
The latest blow to the tattered image of sumo comes from the recent expulsions of three foreign-born sumo wrestlers for marijuana use. While such a small sample may be statistically irrelevant in a “Freakonomics” sense, it nevertheless points to some of the chronic double standards, dishonesty and disregard for athlete health that has come to characterize this sport.
Since drug testing was finally introduced this year — after promises to bring it in 2003 were reneged on — only these three rikishi have been banned in a sport where use of harmful substances is suspected to be widespread. The fact that all three just happen to be foreigners is surely not coincidental.
Last year sumo faced its worst scandal in recent memory when a young trainee was battered to death in an apparent act of hazing. But while the circumstances of this case were tragic and newsworthy, the truth is that sumo has been causing a lot of low-key death and physical destruction for much longer. Just look at the numerous examples of retired wrestlers in poor health. Recently, the former golden boy of sumo, 36-year-old Takanohana, made an appearance on TV. I hadn’t seen him since his yokozuna glory days, and was shocked to notice what he has become — his movements were stiff and unnatural, and his voice sounded weak and reedy.
Not only is the life expectancy of sumo wrestlers 10 years less than the average population, they also suffer higher incidences of kidney and liver problems. Wrestlers are also subject to hormonal imbalances, signaled by serious weight problems and voice changes. While much of this may be the result of the unusual diet and harsh training, many of the same symptoms are also present in steroid abusers.
This brings us back to the reason that drug testing was finally introduced this year. Back in 2003, the head of the Japan Sumo Association proposed that all wrestlers be screened for drugs during their medical check-ups in February and October. The issue came up because politicians had begun criticizing the sport’s growing dependency on steroids, which led to vastly increased weights and injuries.
One of the driving forces for increased steroid use may have been the need for Japanese wrestlers to “bulk up” to face waves of tough competition from abroad, first from Hawaii, then Mongolia and now Eastern Europe. How ironic, then, that when drug screening was introduced, the tests were not aimed at steroid users but instead at marijuana smokers. Marijuana is a comparatively mild and harmless drug, especially in light of the serious long-term health problems faced by most sumo wrestlers.
If the Japan Sumo Association had been serious about eradicating drug use, it would have started testing for steroids first. But this would have ruffled the feathers of the big sumo stables and, depending on how widespread the problem, brought chaos to the sport. Much better, therefore, to make an example of a few foreigners while turning a blind eye to the real trouble.
The scapegoating of the three Russian wrestlers clearly stems from the sport’s dominant culture, which combines elements of xenophobia with religious chauvinism. Not only is sumo tied up with the remnants of the imperialistic Shinto cult that was defeated in the war, it also promotes insulting attitudes to women, whom it excludes from the dohyo as “spiritually unclean.” In short, the sumo world is a closed cabalistic entity, hidebound with arcane traditions, and highly suspicious of change, of foreigners or any kind of transparency. That’s the reason why this otherwise exciting sport continues its slow and steady decline.
If sumo is to have a real future, it must break with the past and shed the arcane culture that once nourished it but now stifles it. An international ruling body should be established, with standards, rules and procedures that meet global standards. Judo and karate have done this; why not sumo?

This commentary originally appeared in Metropolis magazine (http://www.metropolis.co.jp/)

By Vanessa Barford BBC News

Ricky Gervais is the first to admit that his teeth are neither white nor straight - and Americans mistakenly think he wears bad false teeth for comedic purposes. Why the dental divide?
British teeth are not like American teeth.
Hollywood smiles are pearly white paragons of straightness. British teeth might be described as having character.

These are my real teeth. You think I'd wear them all the time if they weren't real?
Ricky Gervais' reply to interviewer remarking on his 'false teeth'
So much character, in fact, that Ricky Gervais says one US journalist complimented him on being prepared to wear unflattering false teeth for his role as an English dentist in his latest film, Ghost Town. Only he didn't.
"He was horrified that I could have such horrible real teeth. It's like the biggest difference between the Brits and the Americans, they are obsessed with perfect teeth," says Gervais.
Unlike many British stars hoping to make it big across the Atlantic, Gervais hasn't bought himself a Hollywood Smile.
But what is it about the bright white and perfectly straight teeth of Los Angeles that Americans love - and expect of their public figures?"Americans have the idea uniformity is equivalent to looking good. The British character is more free-spirited, more radical," says Professor Liz Kay, dean of the Peninsula Dental School in Exeter and Plymouth.
She says Americans aspire to a row of teeth which are absolutely even and white.
Whiter than white, it transpires. Teeth naturally vary in colour and the palette can tend closer to cream than white.

"US teeth are sometimes whiter than it is physically possible to get in nature - there is a new reality out there. The most extreme tooth bleaching is terrifying, it looks like it's painted with gloss paint and has altered what people perceive as normal," says Professor Jimmy Steele, of the School of Dental Science at Newcastle University.
The British traditionally prefer "nice natural smiles - natural in colour", he says, and have had a more functional view of teeth and dentistry, whereas Americans have always seen teeth more aesthetically, hence the rise of the artificial smile in show business and pop culture.
Cue jibes such as The Bumper Book of British Smiles which cajoles Lisa Simpson into having a brace, and Mike Myers' mockery of buck-toothed Brits in Austin Powers. Conversely, in the UK the snide remarks are saved for those who have had obvious work done, such as Simon Cowell or glamour model Jodie Marsh.
When it was widely reported that Martin Amis had secured a book advance in 1995 to help "do his teeth" - which the author denied - he was lampooned by critics. And more recently there has been much speculation over whether Gordon Brown has had a smile makeover.
Until now it has been considered rather un-British to go for an upgrade, says Professor Steele.

He now performs cosmetic dentistry on a wide spectrum of patients, from an 82-year-old woman with overlapping teeth who finally wanted to "do something for herself", to a 17-year-old worried that fluoride had given her mottled teeth that were whiter than normal.
But the main difference is that Brits tend to go for more conservative treatments.
"Dental tools can do an awful lot of damage if used inappropriately. Crowns can mean a perfectly good tooth has to be cut down, which can weaken the tooth or damage nerves in the long run," he says.

While it is starting to be more common to see braces on adults, most people opt for quicker solutions, says Martin Fallowfield, a cosmetic dentist and executive board member of the British Dentist Association.

"Quite often teeth whitening is a 40th or 50th birthday present," he says, a procedure that can be done in a dentist's chair in two hours for about £650. A more intensive "smile makeover" - perhaps involving veneers, crowns and reconstruction work - can take months and cost anything from £2,000 to £10,000.
Dentistry in the UK is a £5bn market, and Mr Fallowfield expects this to rise to £15bn within 10 years, largely fuelled by private cosmetic dentistry. While NHS dentists are in short supply in parts of the country, the number of dentists registered with the General Dental Council is up from 31,029 in 2000 to 35,419 in 2007.
On average, cosmetic procedures account for a third of a dentist's income from non-NHS work, according to research by the British Dental Association.
Among Mr Fallowfield's patients is Jenny Horton, 36, who has had four crowns redone, six new ones added and her lower teeth whitened after she had a baby.

"The first thing I notice on people is their smile," she says. "I wanted a confidence boost - I was putting my hand over my mouth before, now I can smile. And the compliments have come flooding in: people haven't noticed my teeth, but say I look well."
But Brits haven't embraced the full Hollywood makeover - yet.
"Americans don't mind this unnaturally white look. It's a new phenomenon, like buying a Rolls Royce and telling the world. They are wearing a smile as a badge," says Mr Fallowfield.
Nor do aspiring actors and actresses need to get a new and very expensive set of pearly-whites, says Sylvia Young, of the eponymous theatre school. "A trip to the orthodontist can be a good idea, to get the teeth straightened if need be."
As for the likes of Ricky Gervais, it makes sense to stick to his guns, says Mr Fallowfield.
"A lot of people in his place would have had their teeth fixed in this day and age. But for comedians, it's good to look unique."

Free drinks if you remove your underwear? NOPE!

I just found this interesting story. It's Sunday morning, and I'm bored.

According to Australian authorities, a bar located in St. Kilda, Australia, was ordered to terminate its promotion that allowed women to receive free drinks if they removed their underwear.
The Melbourne Herald-Sun reported that the event, dubbed "No Undie Sundie*", was scheduled for Sunday, but the director of licensing for the Australian state of Victoria, Sue Maclellan, forced Saint Hotel to stop its promotion due to the fact that it could support irresponsible drinking. The director of licensing ordered the bar to cancel the event shortly after meeting the licensee of the pub.
It is worth mentioning that the advertisement said women, who remove their underpants at the bar, would get $40 in free drinks or 4 of the pub's cocktails.
Activists criticized the event for being dangerous and sexist.
"It sends a very bad message, and it is one made very explicit. The Saint is really pushing the barriers," outlined Carolyn Worth, spokeswoman for the Melbourne Center Against Sexual Assault.

What do you think?

Justin

* Undie = underwear

*Sundie = Sunday

Youtube: music for the masses

It looks like Youtube is becoming an important conduit for new music. I like this idea because anyone can post on youtube, meaning good indie artists have a chance.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/09/17/youtube.music.ap/index.html
Don't you think that almost every musician on TV is the same in some way? They look the same, dance the same, "sing" the same... ARE the same.

Jus

Japanese Atlantis??????????

I've seen some strange things on the internet.
The strangest story I've found today is about a "Japanes Atlantis".
It's located underwater, off the coast of Okinawa.
Is this real?
http://weirdandinteresting.blogspot.com/2008/09/10000-year-old-underwater-pyramids.html

Jus

Training

I returned to the gym yesterday. In my months away from training, I have become quite weak. I am really glad to be training again. I feel great today, although all of my muscles are stiff and in pain. I'm going to try and be much healthier from now on.
Is anyone else training?
Justin

Unwanted species

Sometimes we hear about animals from other countries that are causing problems in Japan. Black bass is a popular topic of these discussions.

Today I read an atricle about Canadian animals that are causing problems in other countries.

Enjoy:

PHILIP JACKMAN
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
August 29, 2008 at 4:38 PM EDT
This week Collected Wisdom looks at a couple of Canadian exports that the world has been less than happy to receive.
THE QUESTION: "We often read of species that are accidentally introduced into Canada, often with a negative impact," wrote Ted Reesor of Burlington, Ont. But he says we never seem to hear about other countries dealing with invading species from Canada. "Are there any?"
THE ANSWER: Indeed there are.

"There is the case of the importation of Canadian beavers into Argentina with devastating effects on the ecosystem," writes John Holding of Schomberg, Ont.

He says 25 pairs were introduced into the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in 1946 with the intention of developing a fur industry. "Without natural predators, the beavers have proliferated to a population now estimated at 200,000. Naturally herbivorous, they have taken to eating fish, increasing in size and creating dams 100 metres in length."
R. Garth Kidd of London. Ont., says there is recent evidence beavers have crossed the Strait of Magellan onto mainland Chile, putting the tree cover in Torres del Paine National Park, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, under serious threat.
Biologist Rick Page of Victoria adds that once European beavers had been trapped to near-extinction in the 19th century, Finland and Sweden imported the more robust Canadian species. "Canadian beavers are now rampaging across the boreal forest into Russia and displacing their European brethren."
Britain, he says, refused to allow importation of Canadian beavers, deeming them "uncivilized brutes."
Canada geese, however, have become a major pest in Britain.
"They were introduced in 1665 by King Charles II, who released them into beautiful St. James's Park in London," writes Danielle Kenney of Toronto. "I was studying near an English castle last year and the moat was full of smelly, messy Canada geese who would honk so loudly it was sometimes difficult to hear the teachers."
A final word on this from C. David Johnson of Toronto.
"I lived in New Zealand (a country plagued with introduced species) for a time, and when a fellow discovered I was from Canada, he sneered slightly and said, 'Canada, eh? Thanks for the bloody geese!' They were everywhere, with all their predictable residue."

LPGA golfers MUST speak English

Associated Press
August 26, 2008 at 11:43 AM EDT
ORLANDO — The LPGA Tour boasts players from all over the world, and it wants all of them to be able to speak English.
Golfweek magazine reported on its website Monday that speaking English will be a requirement starting in 2009, with players who have been LPGA members for two years facing suspension if they can't pass an oral evaluation of English skills.
The tour held a mandatory meeting with South Koreans last Wednesday at the Safeway Classic to inform them of the new policy.
"Hopefully, what we're talking about is something that will not happen," deputy commissioner Libba Galloway told Golfweek. "If it does, we wouldn't just say, 'Come back next year.' What we would do is work with them on where they fell short, provide them the resources they need, the tutoring ... and when we feel like they need to be evaluated again, we would evaluate."

There are 121 international players from 26 countries on the LPGA Tour, including 45 players from South Korea.
Golfweek said that while South Koreans were informed of the rule, LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens has not given them a written explanation. But the message already appears to be lost in translation. The magazine said every South Korean player it interviewed believed she would lose her card — not be suspended — if she failed the English evaluation.
Angela Park — born in Brazil of South Korean heritage and raised in the United States — said the policy is fair and good for the tour and its international players.
"A lot of Korean players think they are being targeted, but it's just because there are so many of them," Park said.
Seon-Hwa Lee, the only Asian with multiple victories this year, said she works with an English tutor in the winter. Her ability to answer questions without the help of a translator has improved in her short time on tour.
"The economy is bad, and we are losing sponsors," Lee said. "Everybody understands."
The policy was endorsed by at least one tournament director, Kate Peters of the LPGA State Farm Classic.
"This is an American tour," Peters said. "It is important for sponsors to be able to interact with players and have a positive experience."

Ever been stuck in an airport overnight?

Sometimes flights get cancelled and travellers are left waiting for another flight. Sometimes the wait is hours long and sometimes even overnight.

This unique product is marketed to business travellers who don't want to sleep in an airport chair.

It is like a small tent. The company selling it calls it the Mini Motel. it comes equipped with sleep essentials, such as an air mattress, alarm clock, earplugs, pillow, and toiletries. All of it fits into a small bag and can be carried onto a plane.

Jus

Tom Cruise is fnished?

Tom cruise is still one of the most famous people in the world.
However, his recent movies have not been successful and some directors do not want to work with him. Also, many young people think Tom Cruise is strange because of his strong religious beliefs in Scientology. Scientology is a cult formed by a failed author in the U.S.
Scientology is illegal in Germany and France has named it on a list of dangerous cults. Many Hollywood stars are involved in this cult.

But anyway, Tom Cruise has some big career problems now, and maybe it is the beginning of the end of Tom Cruise.
Read and tell me what you think:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/la-et-brief18-2008aug18,0,1407444.story

Jus

New species of fish!

Check it out!
http://www.livescience.com/animals/080821-goliath-grouper.html

Aso Taro LOVES rich people!

Taro Aso, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Saturday that stock dividends up to 3 million yen should be exempted from tax as part of efforts to stimulate the lackluster Japanese economy. ‘‘Top policy priority should be given to spurring the economy,’’ Aso said in a speech in the city of Sapporo. Aso said the proposed tax reform for stock dividends would encourage people to shift savings to investments. ‘‘I’m thinking about lifting all stock prices in Japan,’’ he said.He also proposed tax breaks for home purchases and capital investment to help stimulate the economy. Tax incentives are expected to be focal points as the government and the ruling coalition parties explore fresh measures to spur the economy, observers said. Under the current tax system, 10% of a stock dividend is withheld at source as tax. The current tax rate, half of the original 20%, was applied from fiscal 2003 as a temporary tax incentive for a five-year period to bolster sagging stock markets.

Most people do not own stocks. I'd like to know what Aso's plan is to help regular and poor people in this struggling economy. His plan sounds like more Koizumi-economics.
Justin

Help the children

http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/no-of-child-pornography-cases-hits-record-high-in-january-june
I am completely outraged by this. This is a relatively small story in the media here. I think this is one of the most serious problems in Japan. Disgusting. Completely disgusting.
http://www.gvnet.com/childprostitution/Japan.htm

Justin

Jet Lag

When I travel to Canada, it is always to the East coast. There is a 12 hour time difference between there and Japan. The first few days are always difficult as I suffer from severe jet lag.
Here are some tips to help:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/top-in-category/view/beating-stress-and-jet-lag
And here is a useful article about jet lag
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_lag

Jus

Australian slang

I found something funny on the internet. It is a guide to Australian slang. I have some trouble when listening to Australians speak. They use alot of slang and it is not so easy for me to know what they mean. I understand British slang very well, but Australian slang is so different.
Check it out, please.

http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html

Justin

Tunnel to the other side of the earth!

If you dug a hole straight down, through the core of the earth, and out the other side, where would you be?
Enjoy!
http://www.freemaptools.com/tunnel-to-other-side-of-the-earth.htm

Justin

Like coffee?

I don't. But many people do.
In America, not so many people are drinking coffee at Starbucks.
They will close 600 coffee shops!
http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080701.wrstarbucks/BNStory/Business/home

Justin

Only in Japan!!!

Japanese television and mass media enjoy talking about fat Westerners. I see fat Americans on television here, almost every week! I watch very little TV, so I think fat Americans must be on Japanese television, ALOT!
Anyway, American mass media also has an image of Japan that it likes to discuss - the strange "only in Japan" things that Westerners find exciting or disgusting.
I think it is funny, but it is also interesting how both countries enjoy negative/strange stories about eachother.

Enjoy!
http://fundivision.net/?p=1192

Justin

Picture problems

There is a problem posting pictures to my blog, from my new pc.
I will try again tonight, with my older pc.

Justin

IDEAS

I've been thinking recently about ideas. I love ideas. I love to hear other peoples' ideas and I love to share my ideas.
Tell me your ideas!!! Ideas about anything.
Today I have to make a new pigeon house. One student asked me how many birds I own. I'm not really sure, so I PROMISE to take some pictures today. I will take pictures today of every bird I own.

Later!
Justin

WOW!

I'm SO BUSY!!!
I opened my new office, last week and many students have been coming for level checks and lessons. It is going well. I'm very pleased and want to thank everyone who has come in so far, and everyone coming in the next 2 weeks. Former Hummingbird students, please send me your email or call me and book make your level check appointment. The June "Hummingbird" campaing ends on June 30!

In other news:
I found my hawk. Canso, my female Harris Hawk, had escaped on May 3. I caught her last week in Shinoro. She is now safe at home. I had to catch her with a special "hawk trap". It was fun.
Yesterday, I got 5 baby racing pigeons (レース鳩). They are very cute and gentle. I will try to train them to return home. I will take some pictures of them, tomorrow. They are very good looking pigeons.
Yesterday, I rode my mountainbike from my home in Motomachi, to the office. It was the first time this year to ride my bike to work. I hope I can lose weight because recently many of my students have been giving me delicious sweets, and I AM SO FAT!!!
I'll write again, tomorrow.

Seeeeeeeeya!

Jus

Hmmm

British English: NIGHT
American English: NITE
British English: FIGHT
American English: FIGHT
British English: COLOUR
American English: COLOR
British English: POUR
American English: POUR

Huh? There are fewer rules in American English. Some say it was because many years ago, early Americans were very uneducated. I think that if Americans did not know how to spell English words, they just spelled them from the sounds.
British English, or "The Queen's English" as we call it, is more acceptable around the world than American English. We don't use American English in Canada.

Jus

New mobile phone battery

My new battery arrived yesterday. I put it in my phone and I must tell you, it is really good. The total price, including shipping was ￥1650. That is a very good price. If anyone needs a new phone battery or Ipod battery, please check this website: http://www.rowa.co.jp/
I think they may have the cheapest batteries in Japan.
It's raining out now, but I have to go to take care of my pigeons. I hope the hot weather arrives, soon.
Jus

AAAAAAAAH! I want to try this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGBRiYhxRTM&feature=related

But my oven isn't big enough!

Jus

SOFTBANK!!!!! RRRRRRRRR!

I'm not happy with Softbank right now.
Recently, the battery in my mobile phone has been swelling! Yes, swelling! It looks like the battery will fall out of my phone sometime, soon. So, today I went to the Softbank office and asked them to fix it. They said I need to pay ￥3800 for a new battery! I said "No thanks." and left. I searched the internet and found a Japanese battery website. I ordered a new battery from there. It will only cost me ￥1690. That's a very good price.
The internet is so useful. I buy almost everything on the internet. I buy things from China, Dubai, Canada, U.S.A., the UK, and Europe. I have never had a problem with internet shopping and the prices are much better than store prices.

Jus

LET'S GO!!!

CHEESE!!!

CHEESE???

YES! CHEESE!

I love it. I eat it alot. Usually I buy a brand called Cookチーズ. I think it tastes pretty good.

Ususally I buy a 450g bag for about ￥400. Last week I went shopping. When I bought my cheese, the price was the same, but something was definitely different!

Besides the package colour, can you find the difference?

Justin