tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48211751851039533322024-11-01T18:09:13.489+09:00The world 'out there' as seen through a crazy Canuck living in Japan.マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-52226822243032912002008-03-20T18:55:00.002+09:002008-03-20T19:08:43.259+09:00

So, I am headed to Canada at the start of April. It's been about two and a half years since I've seen my family! And some friends, just as long or longer! It's time, indeed.C has a solid job with a Japanese advertising agency. When I come back from Canada, I don't know what I will be doing yet. And that's okay! I have different options and will take my time to find something that works for

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-34376448712284011972008-03-09T12:42:00.014+09:002008-03-09T14:36:37.733+09:00

To all of my friends in Tamano who have been following this blog, it is finally time for me to be allowed to tell you that I am leaving you. You may have heard rumours about this and I am very sorry that I could not officially announce that my contract would be finishing until now.It was my intention to tell everyone as soon as I knew, which was before the 3rd term began. But, alas, sometimes

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-46711813179072711622008-02-20T21:33:00.003+09:002008-02-20T21:37:23.953+09:00

This official apology goes out to all those who are subscribed to my blog. I recently updated a post or two from the past (just messing with some links, maintenance stuff) and I realized that I had pressed "publish", thus creating new feeds to one or two old links.I'm sorry if this outdated feed showed up in your reader or via email. Will be all the smarter for it next time around... or, let's

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-83458393075695112022008-02-12T13:10:00.000+09:002008-02-12T13:23:53.314+09:00

Hey, what do you know - it's me again, already! How about that?!Just wanted to mention that today is the day when many junior high school students come to the commercial high school at which I am an ALT. It's a competition for spots in the 1st grade (1年生) in the coming school year (beginning in April).Generally, these students aren't strong enough for the academic high schools, but in some

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-5666245617527542822008-02-11T11:29:00.000+09:002008-02-11T13:20:49.917+09:00

Yes, to get it out in the open: I have abandoned this blog for some time and I am back. It may have felt like neglect to some loyal readers out there but, I assure you, I have had important business to take care of since December and had to put this project on hold. So ist das Leben manchmal. C'est la vie. 仕方がないよ。Next order of business: We passed the damned tests! Yes sirree, Bob. I passed

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-61320239473949122482007-12-13T18:36:00.000+09:002007-12-13T20:27:48.362+09:00

Hey, hey, hey, fans! ('Fans')So, it's been a while and I would explain myself if I felt there were some need. But, heck, does anyone care? I made my last post and since then I've been 'focusing' on getting this term over with and having time to get my s&%$ together over winter holidays. After that, it's all downhill -- I hope.Anyway, I got to thinking today (actually, that's incorrect - I

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-78220689262076786632007-11-18T18:21:00.000+09:002008-02-11T11:24:58.363+09:00

Okay, so I have a few things to mention, since I'm not taking the time to update the blog as frequently now, for various reasons. Read to the very END of this post to find out the BIG NEWS I mentioned a while back.So... I was a judge at the Junior High School Speech Contest for Tamano City. Interesting experience, actually. There were some really well-prepared students who delivered

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-17607420193451752252007-11-12T23:07:00.001+09:002007-11-12T23:27:29.469+09:00

Okay, so I found my way to Tamahara elementary school (玉原小) today, again. Good day. Great kids. Lots of excitement. Kouchou-sensei was asking me, at the end of the day, about teaching English conversation to - I think - her and a couple of other teachers. Unfortunately, my Japanese isn't good enough yet to fully have communicated well and we didn't sort it out.The suggested time sounds

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-78882749602331009482007-11-07T00:03:00.000+09:002007-11-07T00:12:28.115+09:00

I don't know much about Iran. Do you? Shouldn't we all learn more so we can't be fooled by the media into believing (again) that yet another war is necessary, inevitable? Check this out:Top secret pics from Iran.Found it on Digg.I'm out...

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-17145876994299704022007-11-05T18:25:00.000+09:002007-11-05T20:55:45.126+09:00

How's that for suspense, heh?! That's right! How soon is soon, you ask? Well, let's say, before the end of the month. But it's real news. The JUICY stuff. Is it good, you ask? Is it bad? I don't know. Hmm...Anyway, went to Shounai elementary school (荘内小) again today. ５年生 this time. Theme was sports. Enjoyed lunch but, due to poor weather, wasn't able to get out to play with the kids

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-54944508914888288332007-10-31T18:25:00.000+09:002007-10-31T18:45:53.458+09:00

Dull update: Went to Tamahara elementary school (玉原小) on Monday. Realized on the weekend that I hadn't received a schedule or lesson plan for that particular school on that particular day, so I had C call the school before I went there on Monday morning. I think I caused people to panic a bit, which I didn't mean to do (if anyone from Tamahara is reading this, I'm SORRY if I caused any stress)

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-76074877627425685502007-10-28T20:57:00.000+09:002007-10-28T21:05:12.640+09:00

Just stopped in to announce that the student mentioned previously, the one who was participating in the speech contest on Saturday (and who had received a little coaching from Yours Truly), has emerged from the contest victorious! She took 1st prize and, damnit, I am PROUD! Way to go, YOU!On a downer note, for reasons I cannot divulge at this time, I was not able to attend the contest and am

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-86375487324257720462007-10-26T18:51:00.000+09:002007-10-26T18:58:59.250+09:00

Careful, the last one is pretty strange stuff... but, so cool! Enjoy!

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-71259403945563785242007-10-26T18:11:00.001+09:002007-10-26T18:41:31.261+09:00

So, it's Friday. I went to Osaki elementary school (大崎小) today and really enjoyed my time with all of the kids. Truly, they're very well-behaved kids, all-in-all. Even the 5年 and 6年 kiddies weren't too shy and certainly not unruly (usually after 4年 they're becoming either にぎやか ['lively'] or はずかしい [shy/embarassed/ashamed]). But the Osaki kids are great. Good for them.Also, I'm grateful to the

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-32313711071786804082007-10-25T18:37:00.000+09:002007-10-25T19:03:53.978+09:00

I want to say 'Break a Leg' to the high school student I've been helping coach for a speech contest to be held this Saturday in Kurashiki　(don't check out the English page - the city actually used an automated translation program to translate everything and, well, that should never be done. More about Kurashiki here). I won't mention any names, but I wanna say that, after a little pushing to

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-69208961202432244522007-10-25T18:32:00.000+09:002007-10-25T18:37:23.671+09:00

Check out this link. I hope it is this serious, just to see how much fun Colbert has dealing with it...Colbert for President '08... trouble coming?

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-44565104288250586212007-10-22T18:06:00.000+09:002007-10-22T22:51:14.101+09:00

Hey, hey, hey! So, I visited Hibi elementary school (日比小) on Friday and had a good time (the kids did, too, I believe). I always enjoy talking with Mr. Kyooka (強化先生?... sorry, I don't know the Kanji [漢字], so I'm guessing. If anyone out there knows him, please correct me if I'm wrong).Anyway, he's a very friendly guy, young-hearted, broad-thinking, hard-working, and (you can add more compound

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-87886051200731368242007-10-20T17:54:00.000+09:002007-10-20T19:02:33.867+09:00

Check this out! Thanks to whomever compiled these links. Wow!I've used a lot of the software offered on the right-hand side. It's all good stuff. Very curious about the online courses now. How cool?!Massive List of Free Online Education (+much more)Found it on del.icio.us, in case you're interested.I'm out...----------------Played while I posted: Franz Liszt - Sonetto 104 del Petrarcavia

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-55813844436330664402007-10-18T18:08:00.000+09:002007-10-18T20:53:54.193+09:00

Okay, I'm home from the high school and not over the cold yet. So, I'm kicking back and chilling to some celtic, 'guitar and bagpipe' music. Just realized that I saw The Real McKenzies in Whistler, BC when I first went out West at the ripe, old age of 19. They were playing in a small pub (maybe Garf's [Garfinkel's]?) filled with mostly preppy, rich Whistler skiers (I didn't know where the

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-48944711913326479602007-10-17T17:01:00.000+09:002007-10-17T17:41:53.546+09:00

Hallowe'en classes happened at Shounai elementary school (荘内小) today, despite the fact that, yes, once again I have come down with a cold... AGAIN. (I have to admit, I haven't had this kind of consistency with health problems, well... ever. I'm thinking the stress keeps my immune system nice and weak, not to mention my mind!) Anyway, I'm taking some natural echinacea pills and gargling with

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-85242687412916980272007-10-15T23:11:00.000+09:002007-10-15T23:35:42.438+09:00

Stephen Colbert continues to keep cracking me up! He's got the new book out - I Am America (And So Can You!)- and now he's just written a(n) hilarious Op/Ed piece in Maureen Dowd's column in the New York Times. Check it out here, if you understand the outrageously funny Stephen Colbert (from the Colbert Report).No need to thank me. I do it out of love for all people.I'm outta here...----------

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-2796260905202701632007-10-15T22:00:00.001+09:002008-02-17T00:36:33.277+09:00

I'm not sure if you want to buy another book or not right now - or if it's even necessary because the book is a product of a blog that's free to the public and constantly evolving - but here's a video about a very cool, different kind of book, thanks to PostSecret, an online community art project that involves people anonymously sending in postcards with personal secrets written on the back.Go

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-49702434877274891192007-10-12T22:38:00.000+09:002007-10-26T20:00:21.115+09:00

For starters, a quick correction to the lyrics scrolling in the widget at the end of this post: one of the stanzas should begin "It wouldn't cross my mind to ring your neck..."Yes, starting out today with music and lyrics from the Dark Prince, the Godfather of Punk, the Man... Mr. Lou Reed. You can click on the song link at the end of this post to find out more and you can check the lyrics to

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-78745838811964975362007-10-10T00:01:00.000+09:002007-10-10T00:37:49.093+09:00

Just a quick update to say that I (and m'Lady) are getting our fitness on for few dineros at the Okayama 'Contact' (read 'Community') Center, as you would translate from the Japanese 岡山市ふれあいセンター.I haven't felt well - sometimes physically and certainly mentally - for months now. Maybe it's a secret to some, maybe not to others. Truth be told, I've been exhibiting many signs of depression and

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4821175185103953332.post-47410605645048083062007-10-08T11:33:00.001+09:002007-10-08T12:38:16.508+09:00

This is Bill Maher, another funny man (are you starting to get an idea of what I enjoy?), on his show Real Time with Bill Maher, talking about all of the pills and various medications that Americans, North Americans... well, people everywhere who can afford them, are just taking because the pharmaceutical industry can make so much money by getting us all hooked on taking useless drugs. He's

マーク (MARK)http://www.blogger.com/profile/03616513534813773727noreply@blogger.com0