Thursday, May 22, 2008

Who Cut the Cheese?

Recently, one of our students – a 3-year-old girl – asked how to say onara in English. (Children always ask the questions everyone else is too shy to ask!) There are several ways to say onara in English – some polite, some not so polite.

The politest way is “to pass wind” or “to break wind.”

e.g. “Someone passed wind!” or “Someone broke wind!”

However, the more commonly used, although not so polite, word is “to fart.”

e.g. “Someone farted!”

Like most embarrassing body functions, English also has a few interesting ways to say onara. My favorite is “to cut the cheese.” These days, most cheeses come wrapped in plastic, all their natural smells sucked out in the factory. In the good old days (back when I had hair!), many cheeses used to come dipped in wax. When you first cut the wax off, a strong fart-like smell would fill the room.

Next time you’re in a crowded subway and someone passes wind, you can ask, “Who cut the cheese?”

About 30 years ago in Australia, there was a popular comedy book series called “Who farted?” The cover of the book was just the question, “Who farted?” Inside the book there were many old photos of various historical events. In the early years of photography, cameras were very slow. When you posed for a photo, you couldn’t smile or blink because it might cause your face to be out of focus. As a result, many old photos show groups of people with serious looks on their faces and wide-open eyes – it always looks like everyone in the photo has smelled something unexpected.

Who farted?!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

"Inner Sky" Concert Tonight (Friday, May 16th)

Glenn & Simon are Goodman Bad

Every month, our friend Simon hosts a concert called “Inner Sky” at Covent Garden (06-4391-3177), in Kita Horie.
Tomorrow night, Goodman Bad (Simon & Glenn) will be doing unplugged covers of 80s pop and 90s grunge.
北堀江の外国人バー北堀江の外国人バーCovent Gardenにて
5月16日(金)20時から
1000円(1ドリンク付き!)
種類豊富なお酒と音楽で楽しいFriday nightを。

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Chill Out!

To “chill out” means “to relax.” It’s spring. It’s Golden Week. What other reasons do you need to chill out?!

Our friend Kotomi, owner of Base, is hosting an afternoon chill-out party in Minami, at the Nakamura Building (just north of Kosei Nenkin Hall), from 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm on Tuesday, May 26th - the last day of Golden Week. There will be live music, DJs, and Jamaican-style food.
There is a door charge of 500 yen per person.
Click on Inquisitive for a map.

A few years back (before we started a family!), we used to host art exhibitions at our school. Kotomi, who’s a textiles artist, held a couple of exhibitions with us.
Kotomi with one of her works
You can check out more photos of our exhibition parties by clicking on Be & Me Exhibitions.
By the way, to be "inquisitive" means to always want to know more; to always ask "What's happening?" and "Why?"

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Online Calendar & Announcements Pages Updated

I've just updated our online Calendar & Announcements pages. By visiting them, you can check our Service Lesson time, Kids' Classes Model Lesson dates, holidays (including our Golden Week holidays), and special events.

To check them out, go to http://www.be-and-me.com/ , click on "生徒のみなさんへ" (the Students' Page), then click on "The School Calendar" or "Be & Me Announcements."Or click on the links below;

The School Calendar:

Be & Me Announcements:

Inquisitive: Afternoon Chill-Out Party

What?: A relaxing afternoon party with live music, DJ's, and Jamaican-style food.

When?: Tuesday, May 6th (the last day of Golden Week) from 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

How much?: 500 yen at the door plus cash on delivery for all food and drink.

Where?: At the Nakamura Building in Minami (just north of Kosei Nenkin Hall).