Rocking in Hakata

The welders are out in force again. This must mean that the sandblasting / polisher guys will be working soon, followed by the primers and painters. This is yet another ship in the Murakami Shipyard being built near Kinoura Port on my island. This one is rather small. Last winter they built several grand scale cargo ships in the cove-like area that they have created amidst the craggy outcroppings. They were so large that the hulls sometimes protruded over the protective barriers and loomed over the roadway. That was cool, unless I was bicycling home and they were welding above my head…ha ha. I enjoy watching these guys work. Anyway, it just goes to show that Imabari City’s slogan “City of Towels and Shipbuilding” is accurate.

Here are two still shots from the same evening. The first is our sad little port sign. I kind of like it, because it strikes me as very rural or countrified. You can imagine the lights winking on and off or making buzzing sounds as they struggle to remain lit. Aaah, Hakata.

The second one is a closeup of captain welding guy. He was really into it. He looked a bit baffled, though, when he peered up and took off his mask and saw some random white guy taking pictures of him from the road. I admit, I can see why that would be strange. It’s a cool picture, nonetheless. In the video, you can see splashes of color that randomly erupt during the welding process. I took a series of these, and some are purple or pink or blue. This one was my favorite.

Deas Customary Drivel, Media, Photos, Video

Tortilla chips. Barbeque. Chocolate. No, not all three at the same time. Calm down. Just two out of the three at a time… You know you’re curious. Semi-related video inside. Read more…

Deas Customary Drivel, Media, Photos, Trips, Video

Color me impressed, ladies and gentlemen. You might have noticed my new link to the Guide to Friends (日本語) on my Japan Blogroll. The actual title of the page is this: シットコムで笑え！海外ドラマ「フレンズ」英語攻略ガイド. You can see why I tried to shorten it up a bit. That translates to something like: “Laugh with sitcoms! English capture guide to the foreign drama ‘Friends.’” I am assuming that capture is used here in the same way that we say “screen capture” or, for people who don’t like to go around their elbows to get to their thumbs, “screen cap.” Anyway, it is exactly what it sounds like – a site that pulls quotes from one of the most quotable sitcoms ever exported from the states. The great thing is that their is discussion of the meaning of the jokes. That’s right folks, this is where “Rach,” the blogger behind the site, attempts to explain some complicated humor in Japanese. (It’s not like I’ve ever tried to do that before…) What I’ve read so far (basically the posts available on the front page) is really great. And from here on out I plan to chip in when something isn’t properly understood or if there are questions. How cool is that?

I’m sure that Rach would welcome English comments, too. Why do I say that? Well, according to her profile (and the subtitle on her blog), her English comprehension is fabulous. Here’s a rough translation. (Sorry if it’s imperfect, Rach. Feel free to fix it.)

名前は Rach（レイチ）です。海外ドラマをDVD鑑賞し、英語を身に付けました。2007年3月に英検１級合格、TOEICは現在945点（リスニングは満点）。海外経験がなくっても、DVDでここまで出来ました（って自慢かよ!?）学習歴 を見ると、私の半生がわかる、かも?

My name is Rach. I’ve got a thing for foreign dramas, which has led to my acquisition of the English language. In March of 2007 I successfully passed the 1st rank of the Eiken (English standardized test) and reached 945 points on the TOEIC exam (Test of English for International Communication – another standardized test) with full marks in listening comprehension. I’ve never been overseas, but I’ve come this far thanks to DVDs. (I guess I’m bragging?) If you take a look at my curriculum, you’ll see where half my life goes.

Needless to say, that is an awesome achievement. Major kudos. Anyhoo, I just wanted to alert you guys to this cool blog if you’ve never hit it before. My first note was to Nicole at The One With Nicole in Japan. If you can’t tell, her blog title is based on the original English episode naming scheme from Friends. She’s a diehard fan, go figure. For the rest of you, though, check it out. It’s good stuff. (By the way, I found this blog when Rach left a comment at Mayumi-san’s Osaka-ben blog – her new podcast is up.) Enjoy.

Deas Customary Drivel, Humor, 日本語

Hey guys, I am back from Kobe. Promise. I’m just playing catchup. I should be regularly posting again shortly. I took a week off, and man did I need it. I decided to sleep without an alarm on Friday night. I woke up at 3 PM on Saturday. Yeah… I guess I needed the sleep! Anyway, while I’ve been catching up (and not blogging), I’ve used the time to catch up on some English language entertainment. Surprisingly, the last 3 episodes of 24 are still sitting unwatched in my iTunes downloads. Gotta get on that. In the meantime, let me mumble about what I have watched.

First, I caught up on CSI thanks to my sister. She started commenting about some plot turns that I didn’t understand, so I decided to look it up. Turns out I was 2 seasons behind! I have now seen seasons 6 and 7, and I am up to date. My twin is quite frustrated with the closing of season 7. I actually enjoyed it, because this last season rescued the show from a rut in my opinion. They got a new hook, ran with it, and took it to a cliffhanger. If you haven’t seen it and want to see it, do not read the next sentence. They have a tradition of hanging the show on a single character. They did it to Nick when he was kidnapped. They’ve done it to others. This time it’s just Sarah’s turn. I hope we’ve not seen the end of the miniature killer, though. It was a cool plot thread. You may read again, because the spoilers are over.

Then, I finally watched Hot Fuzz thanks to Aileen. It was AWESOMENESS. If you liked the goofball film Shaun of the Dead, then you’ll love this one too. Silly British humor at its best. Though, I’m not gonna lie…the films resemble one another in more than one way. Mobs. Running. Ridiculous amounts of ammo. It was great. I highly recommend it.

I also finished Dune (great book, and way better than the movie or miniseries) and brought back 1000 pages of English reading from a blessed bookstore in Kobe. Anyhoo, that’s all for now, folks. Rest assured that I’ve got more in the hopper coming your way.

(I’ll finish 24, too, but probably won’t post about it. This stuff has nothing to do with Japan…)

Deas Customary Drivel, Unsolicited Commentary