www.snowmanjapan.net

Asahikawa American English Conversation School

Snowman Japan Web Log

for December 2005

NOTE:  The OBJECTIVE of this BLOG is to help my students with their study of English.

AND

For all of you, out there, around the world to;

SEE HOKKAIDO

2005 December 31 Saturday.

2005 December 30 Friday.

Raw Music Day.  Mr. Clean takes a rest, so I and the California Guy get down for some Country Music.  Oh! By the way, a scan of the Season's Greetings card that my sister Cookie sent me is on the left.   Every year, it's the same theme.  A snowman.  Of course!  What else could it be in the middle of freezing Hokkaido?   Notice anything amusing about the card?   Look again.  There it is.  I wonder if that price included the pretty RED ENVELOPE that it came in?  I would guess,...  yeah it did.   Anyway while me and my wife were sitting together talking, I opened the big red envelope and took out the card.  My first reaction?  I liiiiiiiiiiiked it.   A very intriguing illustration of fairies and elves building a snowman.  I opened the card and read the brief message.  There was also a hand drawn picture of a 3 layered snowman with a CATS HEAD and a chicken foot shaped twig for a tail.  Very original, and somewhat amusing.  But the real fun had yet to start.  As me and my wife were talking about the clever illustration on the inside right page, I slowly turned to the back of the card.  That was when I noticed right away that,....  well,...... a FAUX PAX had been made.  Or was it a maid?  Or was it deliberate?  I am still not sure.  But the final result was that we couldn't stop laughing for about 5 straight minutes!!!  It was the best laugh we have had together in a while.  What a gas!   Ho ho ho, indeed.   Thanks Sissy-O!  I mentioned above that her name is Cookie.  What kind of a Cookie?  I'm not really sure, but a cookie none the less. 

2005 December 29 Thursday.

THE BIG CLEAN 年末の大掃除 continues again today.  

2005 December 28 Wednesday.

It's time once again for THE BIG CLEAN 年末の大掃除.  

2005 December 27 Tuesday.

RAW MUSIC DAY with the California Guy.  Again today, we rocked it.  Well actually we played folk and country music, but the momentum was such that it was hot and cooking.

2005 December 26 Monday.

The wife and I went to see the movie SAYURI (English title: The Memoirs of a Geisha) at the big Cineplex 7 cinema in the Nagayama District of Asahikawa today at 15:35.   This movie, is the story of a young girl who is sold to a Geisha House and is trained in the many fine, and some not so fine arts of being a Geisha 芸者.  In the minds of many western people, the word "Geisha" summons up the image of a prostitute, but this is rather far from the reality of what a Geisha really is, and does.    The word GEISHA literally means "An Artist".  An artist well versed in many art forms.  A unique thing about this movie, is that it was made in English.  The actors are of various nationalities such as Japanese, Chinese and Korean.  All of the actors play the roles of Japanese people in late Taisho 大正　through early Showa 昭和  Japan , but they can all speak English so the movie will be very easy for Westerners to understand.  One of the actors to appear in this movie is Ken Watanabe who also appeared with Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai, so American audiences are already familiar with him.  I saw The Last Samurai here in Asahikawa in 2003 when it first came out, at a big movie theater with surround sound.  It was powerful.  In fact, after seeing the movie, I decided to grow my hair long and tie it into a pony tail.  I have been wearing my hair that way ever since.  I even went to a martial arts store here in town and bought two wooden swords 赤樫木刀 which I still have, and sometime use for exercise.  The design and balance of these swords is excellent.      Anyway, back to the soon to be released movie SAYURI.   The lead role of Sayuri is played by Zhang Ziyi, a Chinese actress born in Beijing China in 1979.  Another actress in the film is Michelle Yeoh who was born in Malaysia in 1962.   Another actress is Gong Li who was born in China in 1965.   The movie director is Rob Marshall who was born in Madison Wisconsin USA in 1960 and is famous for the 2002 movie CHICAGO, among with many other things done for TV and the big screen.     Steven Spielberg is also involved as the top producer of this movie.    Need I say more?   The photography is stunning, and the story is intriguing.    If you visit the official website of SAYURI  you can watch some sample clips of this movie.  By the way, the young girl in the photo above is Ohgo Suzuka 大後寿々花（おおごすずか）She is only 12 years old.  She played the lead role of the geisha Sayuri as a child.  I have also seen her in the movie 北の零年.   I think I'm gonna become a big fan. 

2005 December 25 Sunday.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

2005 December 24 Saturday.

T'was the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.  The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.  In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.  The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads; And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap, Had just settled down for a long winter's nap, When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.  The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below, When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer, With a little old driver, so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.  More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name; "Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen! To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall! Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"  As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky, So up to the house-top the coursers they flew, With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.  And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof The prancing and pawing of each little hoof. As I drew in my hand, and was turning around, Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.  He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot, And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot; A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack. His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow; The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath; He had a broad face and a little round belly, That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself; A wink of his eye and a twist of his head, Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread; He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, And laying his finger aside of his nose, And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose; He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."  Poem by Clement Clarke Moore
　

2005 December 23 Friday.

Today is a National Holiday in Japan.  It is the Emperor's Birthday   天皇誕生日 to be exact.  Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko came to Asahikawa on July 4, 2003 for the first time in more than 30 years.  The Royal Couple were on a tour of Hokkaido that year, and they traveled around this beautiful island by motorcade.   One of the events on their schedule was to have a Luncheon Banquet at the Taisetsu Crystal Hall which is right across the street from my classroom.   Because I knew the schedule of events on that day, I waited outside on the street along the route of the motorcade as it left the Luncheon Banquet at about 15:00.  I was in a big crowd of people, but lucky for me, I am taller than most of the other people, so I could raise up my one-shot-at-a-time digital camera over my head in an attempt to take a photo of the Emperor as he and the Empress passed by on their way to their next event.  Even though I couldn't use the viewfinder so as to be sure that I got a good photo, I got lucky none the less.  As you can see from the photo on the left, this was a very lucky photo indeed, because I only had one chance.  The one and only chance in my lifetime perhaps.   As a result, I nailed it.   Later that same day, during the evening, there was another large gathering of people, this time in front of the Asahikawa City Hall to wave at the Royal Couple as they waved back to the crowd below from a 15th floor window of the Asahikawa Grand Hotel.  I was able to take some very interesting photos of the occasion and you can see the photo gallery for that day by clicking here.   You can read the very short essay I wrote about it by clicking here.   As I said at the start of today's blog, today is a National Holiday so I had no classes to teach.  With about 18 days of winter vacation in front of me, I began to think of all of the things that I must do, and most of the other things that I want to do.  With Christmas Eve being tomorrow, my wife and I drove down to her mother's house in the Chuwa district of Asahikawa to exchange Xmas presents.   I received a very nice red, gold and green muffler.  I have to admit, it looks damn good on me.  Thank you so much Mom!!!!  While we were at her house, I noticed a CD jacket laying on one of the tables.  It was the original version of the very famous song White Christmas as sung by Bing Crosby.  Not only did it have that song on the CD, but there were also many more.  All of these songs were recorded in the late 1940's and early 1950's.  As such, the music is not in stereo, but in mono.  Now that, is a blast from the past!   The CD is not just a series of songs, but it sounds much more like an old time radio show.   Well anyway, I liked it so much that I  borrowed the CD from my mother-in-law and brought it back home to make a copy for my own enjoyment.  I can't tell you how nostalgic it is to listen to these songs again after a period of about 30 years.  I used to listen to this stuff when I was still such a very young child, with my eyes all aglow, waiting for Santa Claus to come to my house and deliver presents.  What a magical time of year it is now, and what a different kind of America it was way back then.  God bless the Golden Age of America.  I pray that it will live on forever.

2005 December 22 Thursday.

Today is the Winter Solstice 冬至 in the Northern Hemisphere.  The daylight hours are the shortest of any day during the year, and the dark hours are the longest.  The good news is, starting tomorrow, the daylight hours start getting longer and longer with each passing day.  This is not the coldest time of the year in Asahikawa.  That happens in February.  February is also the time when the Asahikawa Winter Festival is held.  Hopefully, all of the snow sculptures and ice carvings won't melt during the festival.  You can see the photos that I took at the 2005 Asahikawa Winter Festival by clicking here.  For the 2001 Winter Festival, click here.   This morning when I woke up, I remembered that I still hadn't finished a Questionnaire アンケート that Asahikawa University had given to all of the full time as well as part time teachers.   The theme of the questionnaire is Thinking about University Education 大学教育を考える.  With less and less children being born in Japan, there are fewer and fewer new students coming into the system every new school year.  They wanted us to give them some suggestions and/or ideas on how to make the university become better able to attract more students to the school.  I had several suggestions and recommendations.  I wrote it all in Japanese with no help from anybody else.  I cannot discuss what I wrote about here, because of confidentiality, but they were all honest and straight to the point suggestions.     Since I didn't have a class between 16:00 and 17:00, I decided to drive all the way over to Asahikawa University during that one hour time frame and hand deliver the completed questionnaire.  I left my place at 16:00 but I couldn't get back until 17:20 because of the slow traffic conditions.  When I finally got back to my classroom, 3 students and their mothers were all waiting for me.  These people come every week to my classroom so I apologized to them for being late.  Also, I said that since I could not give them an entire 50 minute lesson today, that today's lesson was free.  Please use your lesson tickets for the next lesson on January 12.   When my last lesson of the day was finished at 20:00, I started my winter vacation.  No more classes until January 10, 2006.  Lights out at 24:00

2005 December 21 Wednesday.

My teaching day started out at 10:00 with the English Friendship Class at the Young Buds Kindergarten in Kamui 神居にある、めばえ幼稚園で英語ふれあい.  Today, instead of my usual presentation style of teaching, the other teachers who work at the kindergarten full time, came up with the idea of playing FRUIT BASKET with the kids.  The youngest kids did it with the COLORS.  The middle age kids did it with FRUITS, and the older kids did it with FACIAL EXPRESSIONS.  Over all it went pretty smoothly, but when the Japanese teachers did it, they spoke Japanese 95% of the time.  When I did it, I spoke English 95% of the time.  Maybe that was a good balance.  The kids certainly enjoyed it.  After that was finished at 12:00, I came back to my classroom for straight classes from 15:00 until 20:00.   When that was all done, I drank a few beers and practiced playing the six string folk guitar for about 2 hours.   Lights out at 24:00.

2005 December 20 Tuesday.

My first class of the day was at 15:00 with Mr. T. the retired English teacher.  This will be our last class until January 10 of next year.  He told me that he might take a trip to Greece, but still wasn't sure.  Traveling such a long distance is very tiring, especially for an older person.  I feel the same way.  Nowadays, I don't like to sit in an airplane for more than about 3 hours.  I guess that severely limits my options for travel destinations.   The next class at 16:00 was with two sisters, one is a 3rd year junior high school student, and her younger sister is a 1st year junior high school student.  They used to live in the USA for about 3 years.  That was about 7 years ago.  They have been coming to my classroom for about 6 years.  As a result, they have NOT FORGOTTEN how to speak English.  Today was their last class.  The older sister will be very busy studying for her high school entrance exams 受験生　and the younger sister cannot easily come by herself, so I won't be seeing them much anymore.  Maybe never again.   Who knows?   Their parents are both medical doctors and I'm sure that the two girls will try to get into a medical college as well.  It often runs in the family.   Good luck girls!    However, before any classes started today, I went to Tomisawa and played the bass guitar with the California Guy from 11:00 until 14:00.  RAW MUSIC DAY.   We played all 12 songs on our song list and tried a few new ones as well.  It was a lot of fun, and I played the bass guitar better than ever before.  Practice makes perfect.  習うより慣れろ.  Lights out at 24:00

2005 December 19 Monday.

Every Monday at 13:30 I have the Let's Enjoy English Conversation at the Kagura Citizen's Hall 神楽公民館で英会話を楽しむ会.   Today, again, I met with this group of people.  But not at the usual place.  Today we had our annual Xmas Party.  This year it was at the Hotel Paco ホテルパコ up on the top floor.   First we all had the buffet lunch.  Then we moved to one of the Karaoke rooms for the rest of the party.  There were gift exchanges, games and even a few songs sung.  It was a very nice party.  The party lasted until 16:00, but I had a class starting at 15:00 so I had to leave at 14:30.  What a nice time with a bunch of nice people.  Thank you so much everybody!  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!   You can see a photo gallery of today's event by clicking here.  Lights out at 24:00.

2005 December 18 Sunday.

No classes or other special events scheduled for today, so I finished putting together the photo gallery of yesterdays Big Year End Party.  You can see it by clicking here.   Other than that I spent the day reading and taking hot baths.  A simple pleasure during this time of year.  Another thing I did was watch the movie CHICAGO on DVD.  This movie is a musical.  Not the kind of musical like The Sound of Music, but rather a much more clever approach to the style with lots of double meanings and other types of humor mixed in with it.  This movie is so good that it is worth watching several times.  The music, the acting, the photography, everything is excellent.  One of the best movies I have watched in a long time.  I highly recommend it.  Lights out at 24:00.

2005 December 17 Saturday.

I had a private lesson from 11:00 until 12:00.  Then it was time to eat lunch and get ready for my yearly trip to Sapporo to attend the Year End Party 忘年会 of the Hokkaido Cultural Property Protection Association 北海道文化財保護協会.   I have been a member of this Association since 2003, so this was my third time to go to again to this Year End Party.  I was first invited to attend this party by Mr. Akira Baba, the owner of Pub Restaurant Ohfune 座敷居酒屋大舟.  He is also the vice-chairman of this Association.   I am the only non-Japanese person who is now a member of this association.  In fact, I am the very first non-Japanese member of this association.   How is that for international relations 国際交流?  Right at the grassroots level　草の根レベル.   Like it should be.  　The main power behind this association is The Hokkaido Board of Education 北海道教育委員会 .  As such, there are many members that are current and/or former school teachers.  Also, there are a lot of freelance artists of various kinds such as painters, writers, singers, musicians, calligraphers, etc. etc.   It is a pleasure, even a privilege for me to be able to meet with and talk to these unique and talented people.  It's a damn good thing I can speak, read and write Japanese.  Otherwise, I could not enjoy this Year End Party.  You can see a photo gallery of the event by clicking here.  One of the persons I was able to meet again this year was the writer Kohiyama Hiroshi 小檜山　博　様.  This year at the party, as he gave the closing speech,  he announced that one of the books that he has written, has been selected as a textbook to be used in Japanese schools.  That is a very big deal.  He is now almost 70 years old, but he looks more like 50 something.  See the photo above.   Maybe it is true what they say.  Staying active, in any way, is the secret to staying young.  I do a lot of writing too, but I am not famous.  That is OK.  It doesn't matter.  The point is, to always be creating, and also, learning something new.  Then, your heart will never grow old.  Only your body will.  Everybody's body gets old.   But even your body will look younger that it really is, if you just stay active.  The Fountain of Youth?  Being active and creative is your best way to get there.    After that enjoyable and very interesting party, Akira Baba and I got on the 21:00 train, the Super White Arrow, bound for Asahikawa.  After our arrival, we both got into a taxi and went to Akira's Pub Restaurant Ohfune for some more good food and good drink.  At about 23:00, we called it a night.  We got into a taxi together, because we live in the same direction from the middle of Asahikawa.  I live in Kagura 神楽, and he lives in Kamui　神居.   After looking at and then editing the photos that I took tonight, it was lights out at 26:00.  Stay active.  Stay interested.  Make life meaningful.  Not just for yourself, but for everybody that you meet everyday. 

2005 December 16 Friday.

My teaching day started off at 9:00 at the Hokkaido Nursing Academy of Asahikawa 北海道立旭川高等看護学院.  Again today, just like I did last week with the other half of the class, I showed the class two 30 minute animations.  One is called Father Christmas and the other is The Snowman.  Both of these stories were written by the Englishman, Raymond Briggs.       I first saw these two animations in 1993 on NHK BS.  I was quick witted enough at the time to put a new video cassette tape into my VCR and record them.  I show them to my students every year.  At least the ones that have never seen 'em before.  One of the unique things about The Snowman animation is that there is absolutely no spoken dialogue in it, except at the very beginning of the movie when the narrator says; I remember that winter, because it brought the heaviest snows I had ever seen.  The snow had fallen steadily all night long.  And in the morning I awoke in a room filled with light and silence.  The whole world seemed to be held in a dreamlike stillness.   It was a magical day.  And it was on that day, I made The Snowman.  The rest of the 30 minute movie is colors, images and background music only.  Despite the lack of spoken words, the meaning of the story comes through loud and clear.  An animation that can be enjoyed by young and old alike.  Regardless of native language or ethnic origin.  It is a universal story theme and will most likely endure for a long, long time to come.  The soft pastel style of the artwork in the animation is very calm and soothing as is the musical score that serves as the BGM.  At the very end of the movie there is a very though provoking moment.  Towards the end of the movie, the young boy, who built the snowman, is given a blue and white muffler by Santa Claus as a Christmas present.  Then, he and The Snowman, fly back to his house.  The boy hugs The Snowman, and then goes back inside his house.  The next morning when he wakes up, he goes back outside to see The Snowman again, but The Snowman has melted.  He is very sad and teary eyed.  Then, he reaches into the left pocket of his night robe, and pulls out the blue and white muffler that Santa Claus had given him the night before at the snowmen's winter party.  The obvious question is;  Was it all just a dream, or was it reality?  And by the way, how do you know that you are not dreaming right here and now?   Lights out at 24:00.   Dreamland 24/7.   

2005 December 15 Thursday.

My first class of the day was at 15:00 with a 2nd grade elementary school student.  This little girl is a fast learner, and she can put things together to create her own expressions.  My 17:00 class was with a group of 6th grade elementary school students.  These kids are already about half way through my original textbook 中学校１年生で学ぶ米会話.  They will be more than ready when they start junior high school next year in April.  Today, one of the mothers asked me if her daughter was ready to take the 英検５級 test.  I said that it would be very easy for her.  The mother looked surprised, so I lent her a book that was made specifically to study for that test.  My 18:00 class was with a 2nd year junior high school student who is also a serious student of English.  She tries to speak English with me as much as possible.  That is a good sign.  My last class of today was with a 2nd year high school student.  She wants to become an airline stewardess.  She is very tall and beautiful and would be perfect for the job, if she could only learn to speak English much better.  She comes twice a week, so I am sure I can get her speaking beautiful English by the time she graduates from high school next year in March.  I will do my best, and so must she.  Lights out at 24:00

2005 December 14 Wednesday.

RAW MUSIC DAY today.  I missed it last Saturday because I had a whopper of a cold, but this morning from 11:00 until 14:00, the California Guy and I did our music rehearsal of about 12 songs.  As usual, I was on the big bad bass and beach boy was strumming along on six string.  We did better today than ever before.  I think we are making some progress.  After that was finished, I came back to my classroom to eat and start classes at 15:00.   With straight classes from 15:00 until 20:00 I was talking up a storm.  That's what I do for a living, talk.  And write.  I guess that means I am a man of my word.  Lights out at 24:00

2005 December 13 Tuesday.

No classes until 15:00 today, so I had a lot of time to read and take a long hot bath.  I never take hot baths during the season of no snow.  It is already hot enough.  During the season of no snow, I take cold baths.  After I have finished with my warm shower.  It feels just as good as a hot bath does, only on the cold side of the scale.   A hot bath feels just as good as a cold bath.  But only during the snowy season.  The snowy season bath feels warm and relaxing.  The non-snowy season bath feels cool and invigorating.  I can enjoy them both.   My life would be much less satisfying if I couldn't take a bath.   So would yours.    At about 15:20 Mr. T.  came by for our Tuesday Talks.   As we drank coffee, he told me that his sister and her husband live in Ishikawa Prefecture 石川県 near where my wife's grandfather used to live before he came to Hokkaido more than 80 years ago.   This is the reason I have been interested in going down there and seeing what the place looks like.   Another reason I really wanna go and visit this place is because it has a very interesting looking peninsula called Noto  能登半島.   I was planning to visit there about 2 years ago, but gave up the idea in favor of a road trip within Hokkaido.   I even went so far as to buy a big map of the place.   If I do go, the only time of the year when I can go, would be during my rather long summer vacation.   I close my classroom for about 1 month during summer, so I can travel around and see new places and take lots of photos.   Hey!  It's only one twelfth of one year! １年間の１２分の１　     I deserve it.  And so do you.   Anyway, with that much coastline to explore on the sea of Japan, I think I could experience a lot of interesting things.   My only concern is  WILL IT BE TOO HOT AND HUMID?   I have to admit that I am not used to that type of weather anymore.  When I lived in Hawaii and  then on the island of Iwo Jima 硫黄島, I enjoyed it and went swimming almost every day.  That was 29 years ago.  Since then, I have lived in places with warm to cold climates.  I have become accustomed to it.   Even here in Asahikawa, as cold as it gets in the winter, it can also get very hot in the summer.  Up to 30 degrees C.  Even this city can sometimes get too hot for my liking.  But it is nowhere near as humid as Honshu and other parts of "proper Japan".  This would be especially true of the Noto Peninsula because of its proximity to the ocean.   It would be a great adventure but, could I survive the oppressive heat and humidity?   I guess I'll just have to try it and find out.  Maybe this year?  Maybe next year?  I have to sit down and draw up some specific plans.  I'll think about that later.   When all of my classes were done at 20:00, I sat down to eat dinner while watching a TV program on the History Channel about Benito Mussolini.  A rather tragic figure, and a rather interesting program.  I would say it was worth watching.  Lights out at 24:00.

2005 December 12 Monday.

When I got up this morning, I was feeling a little bit sore from yesterday's bowling bonanza.  I had been bending and twisting my crusty old body  in ways that I usually don't do, during my daily activities so, my body responded with some slight pains here and there.   Mostly in the legs.   It's not because I'm getting older, or anything like that.   Of course not.    My first order of business today was the English Friendship Class at The Chestnut Tree Kindergarten くりの木幼稚園で英語ふれあい。 You can see a photo gallery of the new school building by clicking here.   Today when I got to the kindergarten at about 10:00, the owner, Mr. Umeda, talked to me about how he felt so relieved that the transition to the new building had gone so quickly and smoothly.  He also talked again about how he feels it is important to offer something of real value to the community of Asahikawa, that will last for many generations.  I completely agree with his philosophy of doing business in the education field.   It is of the utmost importance to teach the children things which will help them to become good citizens, throughout their entire lives.  It is not so much about the big, new, shiny building, it is more about what goes on inside that building every day that really counts.  I couldn't agree more.    He also told me that The Chestnut Tree Kindergarten has already filled up all of its student enrollment for next year, and that they can not take any more applications until next year at this time.  Wow!  That is quite an accomplishment in this age of lower birthrates, and therefore less children available to attend any kind of school.  This is true from kindergartens all the way up to and including colleges and universities.   Competition is tough these days.  In order to survive, a school has to stand head and shoulders above the rest.  It has to have something that no other school has.  It has to be unique.  In the words of Asahikawa University's President,   山内 亮史    "It has to be an ONLY ONE."   He continues on to say that;   "My university days were the best days of my life.  I want to make it that way for all of the students at Asahikawa University.  I want the students coming to this university to have the best experience of their lives."   I agree 120%.  The wants and needs of the students should be the main focus of this school.   Any school.    I'm behind you all the way.  Advance.      Anyway, today at the kindergarten I sang some Christmas songs, talked about Santa Claus, and looked for a snowman on the school's Xmas Tree but couldn't find even one.  I spoke 95% in English.  At natural speed.  Just so the kids could hear what it really sounds like.  I also made sure to use mostly words that I had previously taught the kids, so that they could recognize something that they had heard before and listen more carefully to the words that were new.  I had a wonderful time today, and so did the kids.  When that was finished at 11:20, I drove back to my classroom to clean it up and eat lunch before my next class at 13:30 at the Kagura Citizens' Hall, Let's Enjoy English Conversation Club 神楽公民館英会話を楽しむ会.    Today, one lady talked about her experiences at a friendship party for some exchange students from India.  They had a splendid party at the Palace Hotel.  She got to meet many foreigners and speak English.  And eat lots of really good food.  I'm sorry I missed the party.   Other people talked about various other things.  Next week will be our annual Xmas Party.  I'm looking forward to it.   When that was all finished at about 14:45, I rushed back to my classroom for straight classes from 15:00 until 20:00.  After that it was time to play the folk guitar for about 2 hours.  Today I learned a few new songs form the latest Southern All Stars CD Killer Street キラーストリート.   Even though most of the songs have that unmistakable サザンオールスターズ　sound, this new album still sounds fresh and alive.    Plus there were some innovative new numbers that I started learning how to play on the six string right away.   Lights out at 26:00.

2005 December 11 Sunday.

What?!?  Another snowman joke from   Comics.COM     Unbelievable!   Not.  What can I say.  For those of you reading this blog who are not native speakers of American English let me try to explain what the funny aspect of this not so clever comic is.  Two people, one child and one adult, decided to build a snowman.  But instead of just going out and doing it, they make a sign that says, 雪だるまの建設予定地  At this point you may be scratching your head and thinking, what in the heck does that mean?  これは一体どいう意味だろうか？  I think the intended joke behind this comic strip was to express the opinion that these two guys are about as lazy as anyone could ever get.  I mean, if you can take the time to get all dressed up to go out into snow world, and before you even go there, you take the time to sit down at home and make a sign, telling everyone that you intend to build a snowman on this site,  sometime in the future.    Folks, it doesn't get much dumber than that.   Ha ha ha.  What a gut buster of a funny idea.  NOT.   Anyway, the good news today is that I got to go bowling.  I go bowling about once or twice a year.  Don't get me wrong.  I like bowling a lot.  I just never seem to think of going unless I'm invited to go.  Lucky for me, I get invited every year to the Asahikawa University Life Long Learning Class bowling tournament     旭川大学生涯学習クラス「球技大会」　　I have a really good time every year.  This year was a mind blower.   Let me tell you what happened:   Everybody involved, got together at the SUGAI building in central Asahikawa starting at about 15:30.    Everybody picked lots to see which team they would be on.  I was on team number three.  To be rolling on lane number 5 on the 7th floor of this building.  Are you still with me?  Good.  At just before 16:00 we all got our bowling shoes and walked up two flights of stairs to our lanes.  First thing to do is to find a good bowling ball.  I found a goofy looking 14 pounder that had finger holes just the right size for me.  When I say goofy looking, I mean that it was decorated as a baseball with the Yomiuri Giants logo on it as well.  You can see a photo of this goofy looking ball in the photo gallery by clicking here.     Next thing to do was put on our bowling shoes and wait for the start of the game.   The next thing I knew, someone was handing out beers.  Sapporo Black Label to be exact.  Being a beer lover myself, I took a can and chugged it rather quickly.   Suddenly a magical feeling came over me.   I was the first bowler on our 3 man team to roll the big one, so I stepped up to the line with my bowling ball in hand and let her rip.   It was a straight fast ball for a definitive strike!   What a way to start the day.    If I thought that was good, things were about to get even better.   After missing two spares in frames 2 and 3, I TURKEYed on frames 4, 5 and 6.  Three consecutive strikes.  I've never done that before.  I was stoked.  After that, I got a couple of spares and another strike to finish off my first game at 182 points.  A new personal best.  My previous best was 172.   Set about 5 years ago.  Well, five times ago because that is about how often I go bowling. My second game ended with a total of 153 points with only 2 strikes.   A combined score of 335 points for 2 games.  I got the highest score of the day.  And as for my grand award,.......  I received 22 gift certificates for buying books.  COOL!  I like to read.   After that, it was off to Stone Grilled Beef Steak Restaurant 菊善.  A place I have been to 4 or 5 times before.  As usual, it was delicious.  When that was all finished at about 20:30, I got into a taxi and came back here to my classroom to update this blog and put today's new photo gallery on this website.   Lights out at 26:00

2005 December 10 Saturday.

Raw Music Day.  However, when I woke up at 9:00 this morning, it was obvious to me that I had caught a whopper of a cold.  Runny nose, sore throat.  A very sore throat.  I wasn't up for the gig.  So, I called the California Guy in Tomisawa and told him that I was sorry for the sudden change in plans, but I've been grounded.  He said, OK get well soon, or something to that effect.  Then I went back to bed.  I got up again at 14:00.  Felt a little better, but not yet ready for prime time.  In fact, I stayed in my room all day and didn't even go out into the hallway to check my snail mail.  What a lazy bum.   Since there is nothing that happened today that is worth writing about, I thought I should clear up an important point.  In yesterday's blog, I talked about the made for TV animation The Snowman.  You may be thinking,...  So, that's why he calls his classroom Snowman's American English Family Classroom 家庭教室スノーマン米会話。　　ブブ〜   The reason for naming it as such,  is quite a different story.  Here's how it goes......   When I came back to Asahikawa again in 1993 to look for a job, I was hired by the oldest English Conversation School in this city, AECS.  It is still here in Asahikawa, but it had a change of ownership in 1996, the same year that I jumped ship.   Anyway, during my third and final year there, I had been making very detailed and specific plans for starting my own small school in order to become the owner.  I had already figured out most of what I needed and what would have to be done, but one thing still hadn't been decided.  What am I going to call the school?  Norman's Ei Kaiwa?  ノーマン英会話   Not very original.  Maybe Norman's Bei Kaiwa?  ノーマン米会話     A little better, but perhaps confusing.  I couldn't decide what to call it.   Then one day, as I walked into yet another classroom full of elementary school students at AECS, one of the little boys looked up at me and said ああ、スノーマン先生だ！  There it was!  The answer to my question!    Call the place Snowman Bei Kaiwa スノーマン米会話.   Thanx for your help ya little fart.     And that is how this classroom got its name.     True story.   No copyright infringement.   Can you spell that word without using a spell checker?       I couldn't.       By the way, that goofy looking snowman at the top of today's blog is just a little something that I made using Macromedia Freehand MX a few weeks ago.   Yeah, well,....  Not too bad, but could be better.  By the way, HOW DO YOU COPYRIGHT A SNOWMAN?     Aren't all snowflakes unique and different?  Therefore, any snowman which is made from these one-of-a-kind snowflakes is also unique and different?   There's the answer!

2005 December 9 Friday.

My teaching day started off at 9:00 at the Hokkaido Nursing Academy of Asahikawa 北海道立旭川高等看護学院.  Today instead of doing our usual conversation practice, I showed the class two 30 minute animations.  One is called Father Christmas and the other is The Snowman.  Both of these stories were written by the Englishman, Raymond Briggs.       I first saw these two animations in 1993 on NHK BS.  I was quick witted enough at the time to put a new video cassette tape into my VCR and record them.  I show them to my students every year.  At least the ones that have never seen 'em before.  One of the unique things about The Snowman animation is that there is absolutely no spoken dialogue in it, except at the very beginning of the movie when the narrator says; I remember that winter, because it brought the heaviest snows I had ever seen.  The snow had fallen steadily all night long.  And in the morning I awoke in a room filled with light and silence.  The whole world seemed to be held in a dreamlike stillness.   It was a magical day.  And it was on that day, I made The Snowman.  The rest of the 30 minute movie is colors, images and background music only.  Despite the lack of spoken words, the meaning of the story comes through loud and clear.  An animation that can be enjoyed by young and old alike.  Regardless of native language or ethnic origin.  It is a universal story theme and will most likely endure for a long, long time to come.  The soft pastel style of the artwork in the animation is very calm and soothing as is the musical score that serves as the BGM.  At the very end of the movie there is a very though provoking moment.  Towards the end of the movie, the young boy, who built the snowman, is given a blue and white muffler by Santa Claus as a Christmas present.  Then, he and The Snowman, fly back to his house.  The boy hugs The Snowman, and then goes back inside his house.  The next morning when he wakes up, he goes back outside to see The Snowman again, but The Snowman has melted.  He is very sad and teary eyed.  Then, he reaches into the left pocket of his night robe, and pulls out the blue and white muffler that Santa Claus had given him the night before at the snowmen's winter party.  The obvious question is;  Was it all just a dream, or was it reality?  And by the way, how do you know that you are not dreaming right here and now?   Lights out at 24:00.   Dreamland 24/7.   

2005 December 8 Thursday.

A sunny but very cold day.  It hasn't snowed for a while so there is more black ice on the streets  than anything else right now.  The comic you can see on the left was sent to me by my sister who lives in Seattle.  You might think that she cut it out of the newspaper, scanned it into her PC and then sent it by email.  But she didn't.  While she was at work, she was surfing the web and found it on a website called,  Comics.COM  If you want to see what the comics in a typical American newspaper look like, you should visit this site.  Personally, I don't find most of the comics at this website to be very amusing, but everybody has different likes and dislikes.  Different strokes for different folks.    Anyway, there it is.    You may notice how the snowman design in the USA uses 3 round balls, where as the one used in Japan has only two.  Either one is fine with me, but since I live in Japan, I use the 2 ball design when making my own original art work on the PC.      Today was a pretty slack work day so I had a lot of time to sit around and read various things.  One of the things I read was the headlines in the evening edition of the Hokkaido Newspaper.  It said that the population of Hokkaido has decreased by 1% or 55,640 people since 5 years ago in 2000.  The reasons given were the low birth rate, the outflow of people to "proper Japan" in search of jobs, and the deaths of other people due to accidents or old age.  Then, on the same front page, there was a photo of the Governor of Hokkaido, Ms. Takahashi touring Toyota's brand new 4th factory that just opened today in Tomakomai 苫小牧  Hokkaido.  I wonder if that means that they hired a lot of local people at the new factory?  I hope so.  Well, I guess the good news is that Hokkaido is still in the wilderness.  Lights out at 24:00.

2005 December 7 Wednesday.

PEARL HARBOR DAY   "A day,  which will live in infamy."  That's what FDR said in a speech before congress shortly after the "surprise attack".   He also asked congress during that very same speech to "declare war on the Empire of Japan."   An outraged congress approved it immediately.  No big surprise there.   My only question is; "Was FDR's speech written before December 7?"   Image the possibilities.    As far as the attack itself is concerned, I don't think is was a very wise move to begin with.  But it happened.  You can read all about it by clicking here.     You can see movie clips of the 2001 blockbuster Hollywood movie by clicking here.   The photograph you can see above is of the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor.  If you have ever been to Hawaii, you may have visited it before.  I never have.  So, I'm putting a digital memorial on this blog page in order to gaze upon it often.   Ya gotta watch out for them thar flying missile thing-a-ma-jiggys!    Meanwhile, over here in Japan, it is just another work day.  A work day which included no classes outside of my classroom.  So, I didn't need to drive my car and burn up expensive gasoline.   After all of my lessons were finished at 20:00, I had some dinner and did some research on the internet.  There is always something new to see and learn.  You don't even have to go to the library to access the information.  Just log on to the websites of your choice, and the info you want is right there at your finger tips.  Just a click away.   I even thought about playing the guitar a bit this evening, but I just wasn't in the mood.  Lights out at 24:00.

2005 December 6 Tuesday.

My teaching day started off at 9:00 at Asahikawa University AU.   Again today, we used one of my original textbooks entitled Using Interrogatives 疑問詞を使いこなす。Some of the students are still on page 2, but one student has advanced to page 7.  Everybody else is somewhere in between.  You might ask me; "But how can you teach a class when the students are on different pages of the same textbook?"   Simple.  I walk around the room and practice the conversations, one on one, face to face, with each and every student.  Maybe I should call it, 回転英会話.   After that was finished at 12:10, I drove back to my classroom after first stopping by KFC to get the new SNOWMAN blanket that they now have available as a limited edition 数量限定.  Considering what I got for what I paid, both the chicken, fried potatoes, and the light weight blanket were rather expensive.  I think I will limit my collection to only one.  No lesson at 15:00, but the 16:00 lesson was with the sisters who are both in junior high school and who have also lived in the USA for 3 years during the past.  Of course, they both speak English quite well, especially the older sister, and they almost always get a perfect score on their tests at school.  In fact the younger sister recently received the 1st place prize among all the 1st year junior high school students in Asahikawa for a speech she gave in English.  Wonderful.  I wonder if coming to my classroom every week for about 6 years has helped in anyway?    At 17:00 Mr. T. came for his lesson.  Today, he brought some beer and potato chips with him.  I told him I couldn't drink any beer right now because I still have other classes until 20:00, so he drank some by himself.  He also reads this blog almost every day and noticed that I have been playing music every Saturday with the California Guy, so he asked me to get out my guitar and play some songs for him.  I said OK and that's what I did.   I played some very old country and western songs that he had heard as a child when the US occupation forces were in Japan.  Also, I played some of Inoue Yosui's 井上陽水　old songs for him.  When that unique lesson was over at 18:00, I had time to eat dinner before my last lesson of the day started at 19:00.   Every Tuesday at 19:00, a mother whom I have know for a long time and another high school student who has been coming here for about 2 years have their lesson.  The mother was saying that recently, since her daughter started junior high school, her daughter has become rebellious 反抗期.  Oh really?!?  I never went through that stage!!! (ha ha ha).   Actually I was born in a rebellious state and I am still that way today.  I hate people telling me what to do.  Maybe it is because I can usually figure out what has to be done by myself.  Most of the time.  If I can't, I ask someone for advice.  That's just the way I am.  I hope her daughter grows out of her rebelliousness.  If she doesn't, she may have a difficult time in life.  If she can't overcome her difficulties, then she will be in a very bad state.  The high school girl in this class is very good at memorizing the conversation passages in my original textbooks, but when I ask her a question, she always answers in Japanese!   Come on Miss S!  Put 2 and 2 together and speak real English.  It is for your benefit, not mine.  After that last class was finished at 20:00 it was dinner time and study time.  Lights out at 25:00

2005 December 5 Monday.

My first class of the day was at 13:30 at the Kagura Citizens' Hall, Let's Enjoy English Conversation Club 神楽公民館英会話を楽しむ会.   One of the men, Mr. M., who comes every week, told the class about his experience on Sunday, December 4, when he went to hear a lecture given by Dr. Tetsu Nakamura   中村哲　at the Hokuyo Building 北洋ビル right here in Asahikawa.  Mr. M.  said that if he had to sum up in a very few words what kind of a person Dr. Nakamura is, he would describe him as being very similar in spirit to the now deceased Mother Teresa.    He works for basically no pay, in the remote villages along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border.   He has dedicated his life to helping the impoverished villagers who live there with their heath and welfare problems.   He has been doing this for about 21 years.  According to the good doctor himself;  "I feel fortunate to have been able to see the truth and speak the truth while the whole country (Afghanistan) seems to be confused by the campaign of war against terrorism."  Notice that he used the word "TRUTH".  What does that say about The War on Terrorism?      Tetsu Nakamura MD., is the executive director of the Peshawar Medical Services Hospital, near the Afghanistan border in northwest Pakistan.    In addition to helping the people with their physical needs, he is also striving to   "transcend politics, religion and ethnicity and to practice mutual dependence."   I am intrigued by his thinking.    Wouldn't it be nice if there were a lot more people like the good doctor and a lot less of the people who are self-important, shallow, dishonest, money grubbing,  greedy ass, backstabbing, SOB scum bags?    Dr. Nakamura has relied solely on his 12,000 some loyal friends and donors for the financial support necessary to keep his hospital open.  He has refused to accept any money from large international donors or national governments.  He knows all too well that accepting money from these heartless entities leads to outside interference and bondage.  He supports himself and his family of 4 by occasionally practicing medicine in Japan.    This is a person whom I can truly RESPECT.  GOD BLESS YOU DOCTOR NAKAMURA!   I know you will inspire many other people to think and act as you do.   LOVE is the answer.   Lights out at 25:00.

2005 December 4 Sunday.

A sunny but cold day.  No classes and no appointments today so I stayed at home reading and taking hot baths.  While surfing the web, I discovered a website about a new movie that will be coming out on December 10.  A dual release in both the Japan and the USA.  A movie called SAYURI.  This movie, is the story of a young girl who is sold to a Geisha House and is trained in the many fine, and some not so fine arts of being a Geisha 芸者.  In the minds of many western people, the word "Geisha" summons up the image of a prostitute, but this is rather far from the reality of what a Geisha really is, and does.    The word GEISHA literally means "An Artist".  An artist well versed in many art forms.  A unique thing about this movie, is that it was made in English.  The actors are of various nationalities such as Japanese, Chinese and Korean.  All of the actors play the roles of Japanese people in late Taisho 大正　through early Showa 昭和  Japan , but they can all speak English so the movie will be very easy for Westerners to understand.  One of the actors to appear in this movie is Ken Watanabe who also appeared with Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai, so American audiences are already familiar with him.  I saw The Last Samurai here in Asahikawa in 2003 when it first came out, at a big movie theater with surround sound.  It was powerful.  In fact, after seeing the movie, I decided to grow my hair long and tie it into a pony tail.  I have been wearing my hair that way ever since.  I even went to a martial arts store here in town and bought two wooden swords 赤樫木刀 which I still have, and sometime use for exercise.  The design and balance of these swords is excellent.      Anyway, back to the soon to be released movie SAYURI.   The lead role of Sayuri is played by Zhang Ziyi, a Chinese actress born in Beijing China in 1979.  Another actress in the film is Michelle Yeoh who was born in Malaysia in 1962.   Another actress is Gong Li who was born in China in 1965.   The movie director is Rob Marshall who was born in Madison Wisconsin USA in 1960 and is famous for the 2002 movie CHICAGO, among with many other things done for TV and the big screen.     Steven Spielberg is also involved as the top producer of this movie.    Need I say more?   The photography is stunning, and the story is intriguing.    If you visit the official website of SAYURI  you can watch some sample clips of this movie.  It looks very beautiful and interesting.  I am very much looking forward to seeing it.  I hope you will be too after you visit the official website.  Let's all cooperate, so we can all live in peace, together.  FOREVER.   Lights out at 28:00.

2005 December 3 Saturday.

Today is raw music day.  From 11:00 until 14:30, the California Guy and I rehearsed about 12 different songs.  He played the six-string guitar and sang the songs, and I played along on the electric bass guitar.  While we were doing that, the house owner made some corn bread.  She said it was her first try, but it was very good.  It has been years since I have eaten corn bread.  When I lived in the USA, I ate it quite often.  Usually with butter and honey.  Today, we ate it with camembert cheese.  Also very yummy.  After we washed down our corn bread with some spearmint tea that had been picked just outside the house in the garden several weeks ago, it was back to practice again.  Today, the California Guy finally got his microphone stand set up so that he could really use it.  Because I can now hear is voice a lot better, I was able to play the bass a lot better too.  It was a good jam session.  After that was all finished, I drove back to my home and took a nap for about 2 hours because I had a rather bad headache.  I had the headache when I woke up this morning and by 14:30 it was much worse.  I don't think it was because of the music.  When I woke up from that nap, I updated this blog and after doing some research on the web, I played the six-string guitar for a while.  Lights out at 26:00.

2005 December 2 Friday.

My teaching day started off at 9:00 at the Hokkaido Nursing Academy of Asahikawa 北海道立旭川高等看護学院.  Today, the office was almost empty, because most of the staff who are also fulltime teachers, were out at various hospitals with the first year students to help them with their practical training 実習.  I teach English to the second year students.  Again today we used page four of my original textbook, American English for All Occasions 日常表現.   This page is another, and rather lengthy , telephone conversation where the two people decide to meet at the JR train station in Asahikawa and go to Sapporo to see an Inoue Yosui 井上陽水 Concert.  I myself had never been to an Inoue Yosui concert at the time I wrote this page  for my textbook, but I had been listening to his music for a long long time.  More than thirty years.  Out of all of the Japanese Music Artists that I am familiar with, I like the music of Yosui the best.  No question about it.  I have a vast collection of his music both on CD and even on cassette tape, which I should dub to an MD in the near future.  If you have never heard his music before, you don't know what you are missing.  You can hear some sample clips of his music by clicking here.  He plays everything from folk, love ballads and on into hard rock.  Excellent stuff.  All of it.   Finally on July 24, 2002 Yosui came to Asahikawa for the first time in more than 20 years!  I was stoked.  My wife was able to get two tickets, and off to the concert we went.   What a treat that was.  His voice is so clear and clean, you can hear every word that he sings.  And it cuts like a hot knife thru the butter of the back up band playing plenty loud behind him.   It was incredible.   That same day of July 24, 2002 was also the release date of his new album カシス.  My wife bought it for me as a birthday gift and I have enjoyed listening to it many times since then.   Yosui also came back for another concert in Asahikawa on June 22, 2005 but I couldn't go this year.  Bummer.    Speaking of which, the lovely ladies who come to my classroom every Friday at 13:30 did go and see the Yosui concert in Asahikawa this year.  They told me that they really enjoyed it.    Today however, the lovely ladies had a different topic of conversation.  They told me that they had gone to see a movie on Wednesday, and they asked me to guess the title of the movie.  I asked them if the movie was Japanese or Foreign, and they replied, Japanese.  So, my first guess was Spring Snow 春の雪.  Using a line that they have learned from one of my original textbooks they said; Nope!  Try again."  So, I thought for a moment and then said;  "ALWAYS."   They responded; "Yes, that's right!"   Since I was able to make such a lucky guess on my second try, they didn't get to use the next line in textbook which is "Wrong again, one more guess."  Sorry to disappoint you ladies.    They told me about the movie ALWAYS which they had seen and described it as being a very interesting and nostalgic movie about life in 1958 post war Japan.  A time when both they and I, were very young children.   I intend to see this movie when it comes out on DVD.  It is a time in Japan of which I know very little about.  Plus, the background scenery of the movie will be an education in and of itself.   After that private lesson was finished at 14:30, I had straight classes from 15:00 until 21:00.   A rather long day.  Lights out at 25:00. 

2005 December 1 Thursday.

Hello December!  Just in time for the snowy season.   Today at about 18:00 while I was walking to the supermarket next door, I almost slipped and fell down on several steps along the way.  The temperature was just at or slightly above freezing and not only were there many thin patches of ice here and there, but there was also a very thin, and very slippery, coating of water on top of that ice.  Folks, it doesn't get any slicker than that.  Well, almost never.  Be careful and take small steps, is my advice for winter walking.   Because I arrived at the supermarket about 2 hours earlier today than I usually do, there was still a lot of good sushi of many types, to be had at a 20% or 30% discount.  I selected 3 nice plastic plates, and put them in my basket along with a few other items.  When I got back home a few minutes later, I enjoyed the wonderful taste of fresh seafood RAW.  That's what sushi is you know.  Raw fish.  Just like mother nature intended it to be.  Never tried it?     Yes, I have but I don't like it?    Try it again.   The subtle flavors are something that has to be learned.  Shall we call it an acquired taste?     I call it tastes yummy.   My memory of most American style food in the USA was that it was either very salty, or very sweet, or very hot and spicy, or some other taste taken out to its extreme limit.  Not a lot of fine nuances of subtle flavors blended together in fine combinations while each retains its own individuality.    Say What?    Let me say it this way, eating sushi and sashimi is like listening to Mozart with your tongue.   It's that complex and wonderful.    As a case in point, I once bought a can of Clam Chowder imported from the USA at a supermarket here in Asahikawa.  I used to eat this stuff very often when I lived in the USA so I was happy to see one of my old favorites again.  I took the stuff home and made it in the usual way.   First, pour the entire ingredients of the can into a sauce pan, and then add one can full of water to the mix, stir it around while heating it up on the stove.  When it was all ready to eat about 5 minutes later, I poured it into a bowl and sat down to eat it.  My first spoonful was a shocker.  It tasted so salty.  I had a hard time eating all of it.  Could it be that my taste buds have changed during the rather long time I have lived in Japan?    Seems so, doesn't it.  Anyway, I like sushi and sashimi so much, that I could eat it every day, and probably lose weight as well.    I think I'll call it THE RAW FISH DIET.   Lights out at 24:00.

BLOG for April 2005

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