This is what I refer to as “ALT gold”. A simple letter elegantly written. Jay Onyskin
2018-10-18 20:06 JST 2018 This is what I refer to as “ALT gold”. A simple letter elegantly written. Jay Onyskin ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 5 · Comments: 0 · Shares: 0 ← 2018-10-18 12:44 JST 2018-10-19 09:08 JST → Around this time … 2018-10-20 22:52 JSTI'd like to write a bit about the Little Free Library movement and consider the possibility of helping it take root here in Kumamoto. I became interested in the topic after listening to an NPR (U.S. public radio) segment about the death of Todd Bol, who began the movement by simply building the little outdoor bookshelf you see in the photo, filling it with books, and putting it outside his home for the use of anyone who might stop to look at it.https://www.npr.org/2018/10/19/658962057/little-free-library-creator-todd-bol-diesIt was interesting to me that he didn't get much of a response at first but that the idea eventually took root and has spread all over the world:https://littlefreelibrary.org/ourhistory/The official account of the Little Free Library movement's history says that it has spread to 85 countries worldwide. Reading that made me wonder if it had spread to Japan (and, of course, most importantly, our own Kumamoto). Well, I haven't been able to verify the project's spread to our neck of the woods, but it has definitely come to Japan. Here's an article in Japanese about a man in Nagasaki who is working to build Little Free Libraries (「小さな図書館」 or 「マイクロライブラリー」 in Japanese):https://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nnp/nagasaki/article/398425/Here's another Japanese article about Todd Bol's visit to Japan to talk about the idea:http://current.ndl.go.jp/e1603As I wrote above, I haven't been able to confirm the idea's spread to Kumamoto but I have a few people in mind to whom I'd like to propose the project. I would be very happy if readers of this post who like the idea would tell a friend about it -- particularly if that friend is in a position to actually push for implementation. :)-- Kirk 2018-10-20 15:02 JSTI like jogging, and often my course takes me around the castle. It's a lot bigger than most realize. A hospital, a high school, and other facilities have been incorporated into its former grounds - but it's these outer grounds, I've found, that are the most attractive. Kumanichi has a story on the historical extent of the castle with a useful map. (Red = current extent; blue = maximum extent.) Explore! - WilliamＮＨＫ跡に展示施設案 熊本市「構想」、城の価値など発信 | 熊本日日新聞 - This kiji is 2018-10-20 12:25 JSTOur friend Claire Sezaki reminded us that Tamana is not just strawberries, and goldfish are from Nagasu, not Tamana (apparently, the denizens draw a large distinction). She also informed us of a festival soon to be held on November 3 at a Buddhist temple, Rengein, located in Tamana. Having visited many temples, I've learned to distinguish between those that exist solely for tourism and those that are, like, really religious. Rengein is decidedly of the latter. Apparently, you can take the train to Tamana Station and then a free shuttle bus to the temple for the festival, which features many traditional Japanese martial arts such as sumo and guys with pointy things. An English-language introduction to the temple is at the link. Thank you, Claire, for clarifying. - Williamhttp://rengein.jp/about/english.php 2018-10-19 20:52 JSTTamana is not a location that arises in most people's minds when considering Kumamoto. Tamana has strawberries. And goldfish. The two don't go well together unless you're into extreme cuisine.But they do have Kanakuri Shisou (金栗 四三, かなくり しそう), who was actually from Nagomi but attended school in Tamana as, at the time, (around 1900), Tamana was the closest place where schools existed. Kanakuri-san is famous for many reasons but primarily for introducing athletics to Japan, and is the origin of the name of our main stadium, KK Wing (Kana Kuri).Anyway, NHK has this morning drama called "Taiga Drama", (大河ドラマ), always from 8:00 and which my wife would rather die than miss. Their next series will produce a representation of Kanakuri's life, and Kumanichi reports that preparation has begun of a set in Tamana. Northern Kumamoto is a rather ignored location. Perhaps this series will bring greater attention to the strawberries and goldfish. - William玉名市「大河ドラマ館」が着工 「いだてん」放送に合わせ | 熊本日日新聞 - This kiji is 2018-10-19 09:08 JSTA note from the Kumamoto International Earthquake Cluster Desk (merged with the Typhoon Cluster Desk due to budget cuts):No, that wasn't just you! Yes, there have been a number of earthquakes recently, most centered around the Uto Peninsula. For example, there was a 3.6 at 5:00 this morning, which I didn't notice as my dog was kicking me in the face, and a 2.6 around 8:00, which I did feel as its epicenter was directly under my house. (Lower photo caption: directly under my house.)We'll keep you updated. - William 2018-10-18 20:06 JSTThis is what I refer to as “ALT gold”. A simple letter … (this post) 2018-10-18 12:44 JSTShimin Byoin (市民病院) was so heavily damaged during the quakes that they decided to relocate the whole thing to Higashi-Ku. Now under construction, ironically, it was found that the oil dampers - huge devices installed at the base of a building designed to absorb seismic shocks - were among those manufactured by KYB, whose products have been under scrutiny for quality falsification. So investigation into swapping them out is underway, Kumanichi reports.Coincidentally, a quality assurance manager at a major Japanese electronics company which has also suffered from falsification scandals visited yesterday, and we discussed this very topic: false (adj); falsify (vt); falsification (n). Loss of trust: irretrievable. This continuous stream of scandals threatens the Japanese brand. - William建設中の熊本市民病院に不正免震装置 ＫＹＢデータ改ざん | 熊本日日新聞 - This kiji is 2018-10-18 10:48 JSTHere's an article about Yuka Ogata's most recent difficulties in the city council. It quite old now but I think it's fairly detailed and worth a read if you're unfamiliar with the issue.If you understand Japanese, I'd like to repeat my invitation to listen to the following interview with Ms. Ogata:http://www.fmc.or.jp/sound/qic20181014c.mp3For more about this very interesting (in my view) local internet radio station, see my original post athttps://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/2174661142607306?__tn__=-RThe lozengate issues has quieted down a bit, but I'm fairly confident that we haven't heard the last of it. Since I've last written about the issue here, I've learned more about what Ms. Ogata was trying to do as a politician when her colleagues shut her down over the use of a cough drop. She was advocating for the establishment of a 議会基本条例 (gikai kihon jorei; a basic law governing council deliberations). Most local governments in Japan now have such a law so Kumamoto is behind the curve. The law would function as a "constitution" for the city council and require more openness (explanations about reasons for decisions instead of just pass-failure pronouncements, etc.). Openness is good for citizens but not so good for politicians who don't like being in a fish bowl. So, the argument can be made that part of what the flap was REALLY about was shutting down a call for openness that most of the members of the city council were not happy about. I learned about this listening to the radio interview I reintroduced above and also from a couple of personal conversations with Ms. Ogata. Interestingly, even the local Japanese newspaper (the Kumanichi) hasn't written much about the call for the new law requiring more openness. I'm planning to ask someone I know at the newspaper why they don't go deeper and explain what is really at stake.That's all for now. I'll try to write again when something new comes up.-- Kirkhttps://soranews24.com/2018/10/02/japanese-city-councilwoman-who-took-baby-to-work-kicked-out-of-conference-for-using-cough-drop/Japanese city councilwoman who took baby to work kicked out of conference for using cough drop 2018-10-18 06:23 JSTI work at a private JHS/HS once a week. This is a school where I don’t use Katakana and I speak mostly English. This week, The students chose the lesson which was music. I brought in my Iphone and hooked it up to a nice audio speaker. I told the students to pick their favorite songs and discuss. The students really got into this as in singing their favorite song while it was playing to being a tad embarrassed about their favorite jam. This lesson was so groovy that students themselves brought the teachers into the lesson. And the teachers actively participated with no complaints. The age divide became noticeably evident when one teacher played some Bossa Nova but the last one was hilarious because he picked Metallica’s master of puppets. Towards the end of lesson I picked one of my favorite jams for us to sing. The song is a mid tempo indie jam by Jets to Brazil called Cat Heaven. I broke the students into 3 and each set of 3 sang a verse and the chorus of the song. The teachers not wanting to be out done sang the song also.Everybody did great and a few times I was on the verge of tears. Jay Onyskin 2018-10-17 21:29 JSTJoe Tomei here. Been asked to post this on the list, as always, please contact the address given below,=====Magic English School in Shinmachi is looking for a native speaker to teach adult and kids lessons on Saturdays ( 9am- 6:30pm, November or December start). Experience teaching EIKEN and TOEIC an advantage, but not essential. There is also the possibility of weekday lessons becoming available. Please contact Barry on 096-221-3479 or email [email protected] for more details.http://www.magicenglish07.com/#2 2018-10-17 18:40 JSTKumanichi reports that scaffolding is being removed from the castle's main keep as exterior restoration is complete, 2.5 years after the quakes. The reconstructed keep includes earthquake-proofing features such as X-bars. Preliminary visits are expected to commence from October of next year, and, uh, complete completion in 2021. A funny story my wife told me: as we walked by, she heard a worker call out in Kumamoto dialect 「はまったばい！」, which means "It fits!" Work on the stone walls continues apace, with 107 of 790 stones of the main keep's walls returned to their original positions. Now is the time to view them, each carefully numbered, before they are returned. - William熊本城天守、真新しく 石垣積みなおし復旧着々 | 熊本日日新聞 - This kiji is
