Leah Dizon gets hitched

Leah Dizon announced that she got married. But, unlike Howard Stern's news below, I couldn't find any article with the phrase "get hitched." Of course, you can't find much information about Leah Dizon in English. Is she really American?

Howard Stern

Nobody in Japan would care about this news itself, but the bolded phrases might be unfamiliar with Japanese and should be learned. I 've seen this guy a couple of times on TV.

Quoted from Yahoo!:

Howard Stern gets hitched

Once avowing to never marry again, Howard Stern ties the
knot with model Beth Ostrosky.

Wa Mu?

I don't have any special knowledge to talk about why Washinton Mutual has collapsed. However, I was very surprised by the news. One of my Japanese friends who lived in California had a bank account of this bank. Also, I had not known the bank is called "Wa Mu" until I read this news through the internet.

Do they have cats in their stores?

The New York Times Weekly Review:

... there is one thing that many owners and employees say they cannot do without: cats. And it goes beyond cuddly companionship. These cats are workers, tireless, and enthusiastic hunters of unwanted vermin, and they typically do a far better job than exterminators and poisons.

I like cats. I would feel uncomfortable, though, if I watched them walking on food items. Anyway, this article introduces a website about store-dwelling cats: http://workingclasscats.com/

Doraemon is a cat-shaped robot, although it looks like a racoon dog.

Kumiko Aso gets hitched.

I read the news that Kumiko Aso will get married. This new didn't surprise me, but it made me think that a lot of years has passed since she started out appearing in the media. I remember she was on a commercial of "Katei Kyoushi no Trai (Try tutor recruiting agency)." That was a long long time ago.

A man who cannot get married will get married.

The Sankei Shimbun reported that Hiroshi Abe would get hitched with a 28-year-old office worker. He became very popular because of the TV drama named "A man who cannot get married." But, he will get married.

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20071120-00000946-san-ent

The French are a tolerant people.

It is said that truth is stranger than fiction. Sometimes truth is funnier than fiction, I guess. I read an article about Sarkozy, President of France, today. And this is very impressive.

The French are a tolerant people. Their presidents have had mistresses and even fathered illegitimate children and life went on. But divorce? How . . . conventional. How . . . bourgeois. How . . . unconventional, actually.

This part tells you about French people. Plus, the first sentence might be difficult for English learners in Japan.

People is plural when it refers to human beings in general or to many indivisual human beings together; but when people refers to a particular racial, ethnic, or national group, it's singular, and the plural is peoples. (Collins Cobuild Advanced Dictionary of American English)

English teachers in Japan often give their students this example:

- The Japanese are a hard-working people.

Let's get back to Sarkozy and his wife. How they have been since they met each other is described below:

Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz, a onetime political aide, was married and had two small children when the two fell in love in 1987. Nicolas Sarkozy, then mayor of a Paris suburb, was also married with two children and assionate about politics. They moved in together, but it took several years of divorce wrangling for Sarkozy before they were able to marry in 1996. A few years later, after he became interior minister, he set her up in the office next to his as an aide-de-camp.

But in 2005, she ran away with another man to New York for eight months. While she was gone, he took up with another woman only to dump her to lure Cecilia back.

One more ESL stuff. Japanese people tend to think that "in" is the only preposition that comes after "absorbed" because they have been required to memorize "be absorbed in" as an idiom. However, in this article, we can find "by."

"She saw him as completely absorbed by politics, unbearable to live with," Clerc said, "and I think she wanted more."

It often happens that learners' choices of prepositions will be restricted by the instruction they have had before, especially when "be + past participle + preposition." I call this "The rule of 'be surprised at.'"

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-sarkozy13oct13,1,7855575,print.story?coll=la-headlines-world&ctrack=2&cset=true

Dental Care in the US -- "Some people can get it, and some people can't."

I read the article named "Boom Times for Dentists, but Not for Teeth" (Oct 11, The New York Times). This sentence makes me think about the gap between have and have-not in the US.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/11/business/11decay.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

For middle-class and wealthy Americans, straight white teeth are still a virtual birthright. And dentists say that a majority of people in this country receive high-quality care.

But many poor and lower-middle-class families do not receive adequate care, in part because most dentists want customers who can pay cash or have private insurance, and they do not accept Medicaid patients. As a result, publicly supported dental clinics have months-long waiting lists even for people who need major surgery for decayed teeth. At the pediatric clinic managed by the state-supported University of Florida dental school, for example, low-income children must wait six months for surgery.

One more quote from the same article for another purpose:

“Most dentists consider themselves to be in the business of dentistry rather than the practice of dentistry,” said Dr. David A. Nash, a professor of pediatric dentistry at the University of Kentucky.

This sentence would be a good example of "rather than" for English learners in Japan. High school students in Japan are often taught "not... so much as..." as a commonly used English phrase.

- He is not a manager so much as a salesman.

However, this phrase is not easy for Japanese. They often get confused where to put "a manager" and "a salesman." Therefore, I recommend that you use "rather than."

- He is a salesman rather than a manager.

Do you like to be monitered?

Being monitored doesn't sound good even for security. It reminds me of Orwell's 1984.

According to MSNBC.com:

Several U.S. auto insurers have begun offering in-car cameras or global positioning equipment to help parents monitor their teenagers’ driving behavior, hoping to reduce the alarming number of crashes involving young new motorists.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21225268/

Wal-Mart

A few years ago, some big foreign supermarket chains such as Carrefour and Wal-Mart were starting business in Japan or buy the stock of a Japanese supermarket. However, Wal-Mart seems declining. This news doesn't surprise me. When I lived in the states, most people bought meat at other supermarkets looking for freshness.

According to MSN:

- Talk back: Is Wal-Mart past its prime?

Today, though, Wal-Mart's influence over the retail universe is slipping. In fact, the industry's titan is scrambling to keep up with swifter rivals that are redefining the business all around it. It can still disrupt prices, as it did last year by cutting some generic prescriptions in the United States to $4. But success is no longer guaranteed.

Convenience, selection and quality

Rival retailers lured Americans away from Wal-Mart's low-price promise by offering greater convenience, more selection, higher quality or better service. Amid the country's growing affluence, Wal-Mart has struggled to overhaul its down-market, politically incorrect image while other discounters pitched themselves as more upscale and more palatable alternatives.

The Internet has changed shoppers' preferences and eroded the commanding influence Wal-Mart had over its suppliers. As a result, American shoppers are increasingly looking for qualities that Wal-Mart has trouble providing.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/TheEndOfTheWalMartEra.aspx?page=1

Gotta have some nookie!?

According to the Mainichi Daily News, Ai Iijima said:

"I was thinking the other day that ever since my life started, it has lacked sensuality," Shukan Asahi quotes Iijima posting on her blog. "I haven't got a boyfriend. I haven't even got a sex friend. Oh my god, I'm dying for a bit. I've just got to have some nooky."

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/face/news/20070831p2g00m0dm006000c.html

In this article, Iijima was called "sex camel." Anyway, I don't understand why her banal comment has become sensational or interesting. Although some people may have thought that she is very honest or brunt, she seems to be cleverer than they think. Probably she put the comment on her blog knowingly in order to get some public attention.

For ESL learners, "nookie," or "nooky" means sexual intercourse.

Spellcheck? Why is it necessary? Hmm... maybe you could avoid an accident like this...

Sometime we feel like this: "Spellcheck? It is a waste of time. Who cares?" However, sometimes missspelling will bring big trouble.

English Translation of a news article in Japan:

Misstyped for invitation letters regarding Emperor family members' visit: "bad emperor" for "bad weather"

Akita prefecture announced that a staff member was fired because of sending invitation letters with missspelling, and that the head of the department the staff belonged to was also reprimanded.

According to the department, what happened was because of misstyping and the staff was in such a letter and he didn't wait for check by his boss. He sent 181 invitation letters to people who would see them off before the Emperor and Empress left for Tokyo. Out of the 18l letters, 21 letters contained the phrase "bad emperor" instead of "bad weather."

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20070918-00000141-jij-soci

Be aware of the atmosphre? Who cares?

I never support Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who announced his resignation on Wednesday. However, I don't like to hear people use the term "Be aware of the atmosphere," to describe how little he understands what Japanese people really want.

I believe that you should be assertive in public. To make others understand what you feel, you've got to tell them that. It's not fair to say "that's not what I want" without stating your intention.

The Japanese society requires its nations to acquire the skills to be aware of the atmosphere more often than the other societies are. Although some may say this is the virtue of Japan, I believe that this rediculous custom is making our life uncomfortable. It seems that Japan will be better if we are able to state our opinions freely.

As you know, Mr. Abe's case doesn't apply to "Be aware of the atomosphere" situations. Simply, he didn't listen to people around him and Japanese citizens.

Some news I can't make a comment about

Although there's a bunch of news that intersts me, I don't know what to comment. For example, there's this news about a flight attendant and her outfit. I would say that she can wear whatever she wants for her free time, but not for a flight. But, I think this comment is too general.

some questions about language

Even in Japan, the news about Madeleine MaCann's Case is very drawing public attention. I went to Guardian Unlimited to know how it is reported in the UK. And two parts of an article in there took my attention linguistically.

According to Guardian Unlimited:

Exhausted and under suspicion, Madeleine's family come home
Esther Addley

Monday September 10, 2007

.... "Whilst it is heartbreaking to return to the UK without Madeleine, it does not mean we are giving up our search for her," Mr McCann said. "As parents we cannot give up on our daughter until we know what has happened."

.... "Kate and Gerry are just happy to be back at home. They have been through three or four of the most difficult days in their lives. They are tired, very tired. If it was me, I would be absolutely shattered."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2165720,00.html

I didn't know the word "whilst," which is used as a conjunction like "while" and "although."

Also, I found a subjunctive sentence that contains "was" instead of "were." Although it is very obvious that native speakers often use "was" when they speak. But, Japanese EFL learners, especially middle school and high school students, are often annoyed by their English teachers about this usage.

Memorize these names, even if you don't like them!

Some very advanced English learners in Japan yearn for becoming an interpreter. And some of them are interested in interpreting current news. Those people must memorize the names of Abe cabinet both in English and Japanese. For such people, I put their names and titles in English. I think that if you don't support Abe Cabinet (probably most of you do, I guess), memorizing their names and titles will be harder. As you know, becoming an interpreter is very very difficult. But, interpreting what you don't like is also hard. I had to interpret very stupid remarks of my boss at a meeting, which was much more stressful experience than be at a loss to find proper words or phrases.

Abe Cabinet (Info from the Japan Times. If you click the link, you can get further info about each person):

Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe

Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications
Hiroya Masuda

Justice Minister
Kunio Hatoyama

Foreign Minister
Nobutaka Machimura

Finance Minister
Fukushiro Nukaga

Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Bunmei Ibuki

Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare
Yoichi
Masuzoe

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Takehiko Endo

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
Akira Amari

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
Tetsuzo Fuyushiba

Environment Minister
Ichiro Kamoshita

Defense Minister
Masahiko Komura

Chief Cabinet Secretary
Kaoru Yosano

National Public Safety Commission Chairman
Shinya Izumi

State Minister in charge of Okinawa and Affiars Related
to The Northern Territories
Fumio Kishida

State Minister in charge of Financial Services, Administrative and Regulatory Reforms
Yoshimi Watanabe

State Minister in charge of Economic and Fiscal Policy
Hiroko Ota

State Minister in charge of Population and Gender Equality Issues
Yoko Kamikawa

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cabinet/cabinet.html

The school is the place that freaks you out?

Is it real news? Although the school I'm working at is pretty much terrible too, I can't believe that a thing like the news item below happened to any elementary school in Japan. If it happened in a comedy show, it would be okay. Never in the real world, though.

The teacher in "School of Rock" was pretty much extraordinary, but Jack Black didn't hurt any kids in this movie. However, the teacher in the article below is stupider than Jack Black, and the school is more stupid than the school of rock.


According to JAPAN TODAY:

Kanagawa teacher reprimanded for putting 'I am an idiot' note on student's back
Wednesday, July 4, 2007 at 12:28 EDT

ODAWARA — The Odawara Municipal Board of Education on Tuesday reprimanded a male teacher who pinned a note saying "I am an idiot" on the back of a male sixth grader at an elementary school in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture in January of last year.

According to the board of education, the teacher, who is in his 20s, attached the note to the student's back as punishment after a female student complained that some boys were trying to sneak into their changing room. Without confirming the facts, the teacher accused the boy and made him wear the note which read: "I am an idiot. I tried but failed to sneak into the girls' changing room."

A guardian of the student complained to the school the following day, and the teacher and the principal apologized when they confirmed that the boy was not one of those who had tried to spy on the girls. Authorities said the boy did not attend school for about a month due to severe shock over the incident. The city of Odawara issued a warning to the principal and the teacher in June of last year.

"I deeply regret hurting the feelings of a child through such a careless action," said the teacher who is currently working at a different elementary
school.

http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/411307

In any country, elementary schools should be chaos, but...

Can we laugh them?

I just watched a TV dram named "Fashion House," which described the world of fashion industry filled with twisted human desires. I belive that real biz world is as dirty as this drama. Probably every business magnate has this kind of dark side, and they are suffering from lots of stress, which can't be understood by ordinary people like me. I don't understand why the life of Tomoni Kahala and Kenji Haga has been so wrecked or wrenched. It seems like they've been under the stress.

According to Mainich Daily News:

Fallen star hits rock bottom after meteoric demise

Tomomi Kahala, once labeled the Cinderella of Japanese showbiz because of her meteoric rise to fame, has just found out that the clock has struck midnight in her fairytale, according to Shukan Josei (7/17).

The 32-year-old singer cum variety performer has found her career in yet another crisis after she was axed by her talent agency late last month.

"She cancelled a rehearsal for a TV show on June 19, pulled out of practice for a concert on June 20 and then yanked the plug on a few scheduled radio appearances on June 21," a reporter for a sports newspaper says. "That was the final straw for her agency and they sacked her soon after."

Kahala has not only lost her job, she also seems to have lost control of herself.

"She's into drugs. Every time she has worries with her work or her love life, she starts popping all sorts of pills -- sleeping pills, tranquilizers, even cold medicine. She scoffs into the drugs like they're candies," a showbiz insider says. "All the stuff she takes is legal, but she's addicted. She can't look you straight in the eyes, has trouble walking straight and is often barely articulate."

Kahala made her debut in 1995. Shortly after, she was unveiled as the lover of music producer Tetsuya Komuro, then reigning as the king of the Japanese pop world, and the young diva was hailed as his queen. But when Komuro dumped Kahala a few years later, her fairytale turned into a horror story.

First she was rushed off to a hospital in an ambulance after being poisoned by gas from an oven. It was only the first of a series of bizarre, attention-grabbing moments. She has since taken three long sabbaticals from work, been hospitalized for an overdose of prescription medicine, announced an impending marriage and then retracted the announcement moments later. She eventually sought refuge with a long stay in Canada.

Kahala had another sabbatical from December last year until March, pulling out of a stage play, and had only just returned to work a couple of weeks before she was fired. She's also been in the care of the constabulary recently.

"She was found collapsed on the road in a drunken stupor in (the Tokyo district of) Nishi Azabu one night and the cops took her into their care before sending her off to a hospital for treatment," the sports newspaper writer says. "In June alone, the cops picked up her up being drunk three times!"

And it wasn't just drunkenness.

"She was found staggering around one night with her hair all done up and decked out in a flashy dress like a nightclub hostess, but hadn't noticed one of her tits had popped out," the showbiz insider says.

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/face/news/20070706p2g00m0dm003000c.html

It's easy to call her a pathetic girl. If you were her, what would you do?

Actor Kenji Haga failed in settlement deal before alleged blackmail crime

OSAKA -- Actor Kenji Haga, who is under arrest on suspicion of blackmailing a company manager in an attempt to evade about 400 million yen in debts he owed, tried to reach a 120 million yen settlement with the manager about 2 1/2 years earlier but his offer was turned down, it has emerged.

Osaka Prefectural Police suspect that Haga, 45, sought assistance from gangsters to blackmail the company manager after the settlement offer failed. It has emerged that Haga, whose real name is Mikio Toma, had played golf with gang-related people not connected with the crime over which he was arrested, and was on familiar terms with them.

Police accuse Haga of threatening the 51-year-old manager and pressuring him to accept 10 million yen in exchange for canceling his huge debts.

Sources close to the police investigation said that Haga received about 370 million yen from the company president in 2001, to purchase unlisted shares of a medical firm on behalf the president. However, the medical firm went under and plans to make money off the shares failed.

In about November 2003, Haga approached the company manager through a lawyer, offering him 120 million yen to settle the debt, but since he had promised to secure the loan the company manager refused.

Police said Haga discussed the issue with Jiro Watanabe, a former professional boxing world champion, and in June 2006 Watanabe allegedly threatened the company manager at a hotel in Osaka along with two other people including Toshikazu Kawakita, 69, a high-ranking member of a gang linked to the Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate. When questioned by police, Watanabe reportedly admitted that he was on close terms with the leader of the gang, who is a top-ranking member of the Yamaguchi-gumi. Police said they sent documents on four suspects including Haga and Watanabe to public prosecutors on Monday. (Mainichi)

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070702p2a00m0na017000c.html

Cruel Hypothesis

In Japan, there has been some news about Masumi Kuwata, who is playing at the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, I doubt that the same thing is happening in Pittsburgh. And I even think that there's some set-up about his pitching.

I remember reading a lame article about Ichiro's comment about his pitching. He said, "Kuwata seemed to have accepted what he is now." It didn't sound like a comment from a batter who was struck out. Maybe Ichiro was struck out on purpose to let people pay more attention to Kuwata and stay in a better position at an imaginary community named "Japanese professional Baseball society." What a wonderful country Japan is! Of course, nobody in this imaginary community seems to admit what I'm saying is true.

This gotta be such a fake, man!

According to IHT/Asahi, June 20,2007:

10. Waseda University pitcher Yuki Saito, normally a starter, comes on in relief in his team's victory against Kyushu International University in the All Japan University Baseball Championship Series. On the other side of the Pacific, Masumi Kuwata debuts with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 39 year-old pitcher becomes the oldest Japanese to play in a major league game.42 min, 35 sec

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200706200060.html

SSN in Japan?

Friday, June 15, 2007

Abe eyes pension ID numbers, IC cards
Kyodo News

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday he was eager to introduce a common social security number that would allow the government to unify its scattered data on pensions, health-care and other public social security programs, saying it would be more convenient and raise administrative efficiency.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070615a7.html

This quote from the Japan Times made us think about the possiblitity that each of the Japanese will have their social security number soon. I wonder whether it is good, though. I can't imagine how much it would cost to have a new system, which will be paid by tax. Also, it might be kind of risky to let the nation have all the information each Japanese citizen has.