Sunday, January 31, 2016

Norwegian Wood

I'm listening to Norwegian Wood with Audible. I read the book when it was published, several decades ago. I completely forgot about the story, so I enjoy listening to the novel. It's almost new for me. 
I've listened to the audiobook over five hours so far and eight hours left. I can enjoy it because I can understand well the story. That is because the story is in Japan. It's a great advantage for the listing. If the story is in foreign countries I wouldn't understand the story that much.
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Saturday, January 30, 2016

Don't Catch a Cold

I managed to get over a stubborn cold. It took ten days of recovering. I usually get over a cold very easily. At first, I had a high fever and then I was coughing a lot. I didn't feel eating and drinking. But finally, I can survive! 
It'll be cold coming days. And influenza have been spreading out all over Japan. I hope everyone doesn't catch a cold or flu. 
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Friday, January 29, 2016

Next Audiobook

I've downloaded an audiobook titled "Norwegian Wood". The author is, of course, Haruki Murakami. It'll take 13 hours to listen to. I already listened to the part one. Since the novel is originally in Japanese, I could concentrate on the story immediately. 
I use Audible app to listening to audiobooks. Audible is very convenient for me and their charging plans are reasonable. I really recommend it. 
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Thursday, January 28, 2016

Zero Fighter Flies Over Japan

A Japan's legend Zero fighter plane flew over Japan on Wednesday for the first time since World War 2. 
Zero fighters were the most fascinating planes in the time. They had significant speed and cruising distance. Sadly, the planes were used for "Kamikaze" attacks at the last time of the war. 
The flight this time took place at Kanoya Naval Air Base which one of the point of departure for some Kamikaze attacks. 
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Wednesday, January 27, 2016

New iPhone

I've changed my cell phone device today. I got an iPhone 6s. My old one didn't work well especially the battery. It didn't last long no more. 
I was really bored and tired with the changing of the device. It took two hours.  How come they need that much time. I was almost fainted now and then.
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Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Kei and The Australian Open

Kei Nishikori was defeated by the No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic with a 0-3 at quarterfinals of the Australian Open in Melbourne. I watched the game on TV. Kei played well, but Djokovic was too strong to upset. 
The major titles three tournaments left and of course, the Olympics are coming this year. I really hope Kei gets one of them. 
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Monday, January 25, 2016

Snowing in Kyushu

A strong cold air mass covered Japan this weekend, but it will withdraw gradually. The temperature will be risen, the weather forecast said. 
Kyushu area, including Okinawa islands, suffered cold temperatures and snowing. I've never seen that snow in Nagasaki and Kagoshima. Residents there would upset the abnormal weather. 
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Sunday, January 24, 2016

Freezing

It was really cold today. Snow has been falling all the day. The roads have been covered with white snow. This cold weather will continue until tomorrow. 
I'm afraid that the roads will be frozen tomorrow morning. I hope everyone driving safety under the conditions. 
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Saturday, January 23, 2016

Tables Tennis Tournament

The weather forecast said that it will snow tomorrow and the highest temperature will be below zero degrees. 
On that conditions, I have to take part in a local table tennis competition with only short pants and T shirt on. Besides, I'm not well because I have a cold. Hopefully, I could survive tomorrow. 
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Friday, January 22, 2016

It Will Cold Tomorrow

I still have a fever. I have to keep warm, but it will be really cold tomorrow. A huge cold wave will hit all over Japan. Take care everyone! I'll go to bed after watching Never Let Me Go on TV. 
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Thursday, January 21, 2016

I Have a Cold

I caught a terrible cold today. My head aches. And I have a fever. I feel chilly. I went to a clinic to see a doctor. I got an influenza test and it was negative. 
I took medicines and I'll go to bed earlier than usual. Take care everyone. 
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Wednesday, January 20, 2016

The SMAP Matter

A Japanese pop group SMAP will likely stay together as SMAP members said that on their regular TV show on Monday. One of the members said that Kimura had made an opportunity to apologize to Johnhy's president and they could stay together. 
Their expressions were stiff and gloomy. The scene looked like a public excision. My wife said that they should withdraw from Johnny's management company. And she went on "Kimura might betray other members because his wife didn't want him to leave the company. "
I'm not familiar with the background, but it's obvious that they once decided to leave Johnny & Associates. I doubt whether they have a bright future ahead. 
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Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Bowling and a Party

I went to a bowling competition and a party today. It was cold and snowing. The outside was frozen, but the inside of the bowling center was hot. I couldn't perform well, but somehow, I enjoyed doing it. 
After the competition, the host company held a party at a izakaya restaurant. We had a morsunabe and other delicious dishes there.  
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Monday, January 18, 2016

Cold Wave

A cold wave is hitting Japan. The weather forecast said that it will snow here tomorrow. They said we will have 30 centimeters depth snow tomorrow. 
In Tokyo, it snowed in the morning and public transportations there
didn't work well. Many workers and students had to stay in the stations. 
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Sunday, January 17, 2016

National Center Test

The 2016 National Center Test for Universities was held on this Saturday and Sunday. The center said that 563,768 students took the exams at 693 test centers nationwide. The examinees of the test increased by 4,636 people. 
The entrance test will be changed in several years. I'm not familiar with the changes, but I hope the test will be fair enough for students. 
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Saturday, January 16, 2016

Never Let Me Go on Japanese TV

I watched Japanese TV version of "Never Let Me Go". The original story was in England, but that drama was in Japan. I think the TV drama described the original world well as well as the film version. 
I hope this TV show will boost the sales of the novel. 
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Friday, January 15, 2016

Ski Tour Bus Crushes Again

A tour bus from Tokyo to Nagano crushed. Fourteen people were killed and others were injured in the accident. The bus should have taken highway, but they didn't take the correct route. 
The passengers were customers of ski trip heading to Kita Shiga ski area. The tour was very cheap price and popular for younger people. 
I think the drivers had to avoid highway because they had to save money. That's why they took dangerous mountain road and got a terrible accident. 
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Thursday, January 14, 2016

Never Let Me Go on DVD

I watched a movie, "Never Let Me Go", on DVD. It was a really good movie. The author Kazuo Ishiguro likely helped making the movie. I have read the original book and listened to the audiobook. Original text and the movie were kind of different stories, but the essential was the same. We have only a limited time. What is the most important thing to you?
Carey Mulligan played Kathy H. and she was really nice in the movie. Her eye expressions were touching. 
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Wednesday, January 13, 2016

SMAP

According to some news papers, Japanese popular pop group SAMP will likely break up near future. Many TV shows and websites have taken up the matter. That was still a rumor, but most of the Japanese people would be surprised at the news.  
I'm not a big fan of them, but if the rumor is true, I would feel sorry for their break up. 
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Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Japan's Number One Mystery of the Year

I'm reading an English edition of a mystery novel "The Devotion of Suspect X". The book was written by Higashino Keigo and has been sold over two million copies. One of my Twitter friend gave me the book last year. 
At first, my plan was to read both original version, Japanese, and English one by turns. I thought that helped reading English edition easily. But at the end, I couldn't stop reading in Japanese, the original one because I was really hooked on the story and I finished it far ahead of the English version. 
Now, I'm reading the novel in English. 
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Monday, January 11, 2016

The 800th Blog Post

This post is my 800th one in English. I started to write a blog because I wanted to improve my English skills. I'm not sure if this works well for the purpose, but I don't care much about that. This is just a self-satisfaction and I enjoy doing it. 
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Sunday, January 10, 2016

Seijin No Hi

The second Monday of January is Seijin no hi, a national holiday in Japan. We celebrate young people who becomes adult officially in Japan. In Japanese laws, 20 and over years old is regarded as an adult. 
In my city, the government is held Seijin no hi ceremony on one day before the holiday, on Sunday, every year. My son will be 20 this year, so he took part in the ceremony today. He really looked forward the ceremony because many of his school friends gathered for the ceremony.
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Saturday, January 9, 2016

So Much for How to Study English Stuff

It's been a long time since I got back to studying English. I'm not a serious learner, but I enjoy it. 
I almost forgot about my first motive. Reading novels in English was my first motivation for learning English. Time is limited, so I should go back to my first thought. 
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Friday, January 8, 2016

Listening Again

I've finished Never Let Me Go on Audible for the second time. I found lots of new things both storyline and English that I overlooked at the first time. I have to say that the novel is really nice and you can read it in various ways. 
The novel will be dramatized and will broadcast on TV soon. I wonder if the story can transfer completely into tv drama. It won't be easy, but I hope it will be a good one. According to some articles, the author has already read the script and is looking forward to seeing the tv show. 
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Thursday, January 7, 2016

Homework

Today is the last day of winter break for my son. He is really busy because he has to do lots of homework. I'm sorry, but he was busy for his table tennis club activities. He could take a day off on the new year day. 
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Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Hydrogen Bomb Test

North Korea said that they did a hydrogen bomb test successfully. A hydrogen bomb is more powerful than nuclear weapons. South Korean government is skeptical about the Pyongyang's announcement because the explosion was too small to be a hydrogen bomb. This time, even China accused the test immediately. 
Where does Kim Jong-un want to go? 
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Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Mexico Mayor Killed

The mayor of Temixico was killed by a crime group in Mexico only one day after taking office. She determined to crack down on drug trafficking. 
The city has about 100,000 people and has been suffering kidnappings and extortion by crime groups. In Mexico, several mayors and police officers were killed by crime groups last year. Mexico seems like gang control country. 
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Monday, January 4, 2016

Giant Baba

I watched an old documentary tv program about Giant Baba, a Japanese pro-wrestler. He wanted to be a professional baseball player when he was younger. He played baseball at high school in Niigata. He was a good pitcher. 
When he was second grade, Tokyo Giants offered him to join the team. Gains was the most popular baseball team in Japan. He quitted high school and became a professional baseball player at age of 17. 
Unfortunately, he could not play well and was fired when he was 22. Baba though he could not go back to his hometown before he got a success, so he decided to be a pro-wrestler. 
The training to be a wrestler was unbelievably hard, but he managed to get over the difficulty because he didn't have anywhere to go then. 
Finally, he become a popular pre-wrestler. He might be the most famous Japanese wrestler then. 
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Sunday, January 3, 2016

Where We Supposed to Be

I finished Never Let Me Go with its audiobook English version. It took 5 days to complete. I've read the novel in both English and Japanese several years ago, but this audiobook was quite hard to understand for me. 
I was impressed by the last sentence. It was, "then turned back to the car, to drive off to wherever it was I was supposed to be." Life Kathy, Tommy and Ruth, we have to go where we are supposed to be. We can't escape from that, no exception. That's what the author wanted to write, I think. 
I'll try to listen to the novel again, this time with text as much as I can. That'll help my understanding of the novel in English. 
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Saturday, January 2, 2016

Motorbike

My son said that he would buy a motorbike near future. My wife and I said that it would be dangerous to ride a motorcycle. We don't want him to do so. But he said that he already decided that. We can't stop him to buy a motorbike, that's for sure. I'm worried about that, though. 
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Friday, January 1, 2016

Hard to Understand the Novel

I've listened to two thirds of Never Let Me Go on Audible. To tell you the truth, I could understand only half of the story. The author didn't use too difficult words, but it hard to understand for me. But that's okay. I'll listen to the novel over and over with reading the original text.  
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