Hisashiburi, Desu Ne?!

It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?! Sorry! I’ve had my reasons…

Actually, it’s not really that bad! The broken screen is just a joke. If you’d like a broken screen just like mine, click on the picture below. Once the picture opens, right click, and then click on “Set as Background.”

Anyway, I hope to have most of my computer problems fixed up by the end of the week. I promise to tell you about my visit to the aquarium once my “new” computer is online. In the meantime, here are a couple of events you can check out this week…

Erochick

One of the coolest people we know in Osaka (or anywhere else!) is artist and bar owner Takashi Inaba. His bar, the stylish but oddly-named Uni Pon Pon Kau Kau, is hosting an exhibition this week. I’m not sure what kind of art it is, but I’m sure it’s good. You can get more details here.

Rock Fan

Almost every month, our friend Simon hosts a concert called Inner Sky at Covent Garden, in Horie. This month, he’s taken some time off to be the musical director of Rock Fan, a big outdoor music festival co-sponsored by Covent Garden. Rock Fan will be held this Saturday, August 31st, in Ougimachi Park, near Umeda.

We hope to see you at, at least one of these events! Whatever you do this week, have fun!

Quick Fix

When you don't have enough time and/or money to repair something properly, you can try a "quick fix."

Oops!

This morning, I was getting ready to write about my recent visit to the Osaka Aquarium when I dropped an air-conditioner on my computer…
When something like this happens, “Oops!” is a good thing to say. I actually said a few other words. I won’t be teaching you any of them here – they are best left for “Advanced” classes.

Surprisingly, I can still type. But it isn’t easy! It might be a day or two before I can tell you about my trip to the Aquarium. Hopefully, it will be worth the wait!

By the way, we use the letters W, E, R, A, S, Z, & X much more often than you’d think. I guess they are like hair – you don’t miss them until they're gone!

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, 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:
http://groups.msn.com/BeandMe/calendar.msnw

Be & Me Announcements:
http://groups.msn.com/BeandMe/announcements.msnw

Inner Sky Concert this Friday, July 25th

Our friend Simon is the music man! I first met him when he was playing for Tripod Jimmy, one of the best bands to ever come out of Osaka…or anywhere! Since then, he has been in so many different bands, I can’t begin to list them.

His latest band is called Goodman Bad. It features Simon on guitar & vocals, Glenn on bass, and Spleen on drums.

Goodman Bad at Last month's Inner Sky

Every month, Simon organises Inner Sky, a concert at Covent Garden, a friendly bar in Kita Horie. This month’s Inner Sky promises to be the loudest ever. Goodman Bad are going to play a fully electric concert. Simon's even going to kick that chair away!

When? Friday, July 25th, from 8:00 till late!

Where? Covent Garden, Kita Horie (06 – 4391 – 3177)

How much? 1000 yen, which includes 1 drink

Mushi Atsu, Na!

Humidity is the amount of water vapor [like a gas] in the air. The humidity is now very high in Osaka. Everywhere I go, I hear people muttering [talking quitely] to themselves, “Mushi atsu, na!”

In English, we have a few different ways we can say "Mushi atsu!":

“It’s humid!” is the phrase you’re most likely to hear on the TV weather report.

“It’s muggy!” is the phrase you’re more likely to hear on the street.

“It’s sticky!” is another commonly used phrase.

When it’s this muggy, you don’t feel like doing anything except lying on the sofa under the air-conditioner and watching DVDs. (I highly recommend Shawn of the Dead: A Romantic Comedy - with Zombies) Or going to the seaside.

If going to the seaside is your choice, you’e in luck! This weekend there are two big seaside events being held near Osaka…

The Seaside Charity Concert at ATC

There will be 16 different performers (bands/singers/dancers) from Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka. Last year there were over 1,000 people in the audience. Hopefully, there will be even more this year! Click on the links below to find out more...

Photos from the 2006 Concert

Photos from the 2007 Concert

Absolutely Everything You Want to Know About this Year's Concert! (Information about all the performers, video from last year’s concert, maps, etc.)

The Suma Beach Party

Lots of different performers, food stalls, and lots of dancing on the beach. Last year they had over 4,000 people!

Pictures from Last Year's Suma Beach Party

Everything You Want to Know About the Suma Beach Party

A Map to the Suma Beach Party

Whatever you do, enjoy your long weekend! And stay cool!!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Rain, rain, go away.

Come again another day.

Little Johnny wants to play,

So rain, rain, go away!

The rainy season is nearly over, however, it seems the heavens decided to give us one last rainy day before it gets really hot.

In English, we have many ways to describe rain…

If it’s only raining a little, just a drop here and there, we say, “It’s spitting.”

If it’s a little heavier, just enough to need an umbrella, we say, “It’s drizzling.”

If it’s just average rain, we say, “It’s raining.”

If it’s much heavier, like it was earlier today, we say, “It’s pouring.”

When it’s raining really, really heavily, we say, "It’s raining cats and dogs!”

That last expression originated in England 3 or 4 hundred years ago. Back then, cities were much dirtier than they are now. Buildings were very close together, and people threw their kitchen scraps out their windows. Dogs & cats would live off the scraps that piled up between the buildings. When they died, their bodies stayed stuck between the buildings until very strong rains washed them out into the streets. When people passing by saw the bodies, they would jokingly say the bodies had fallen from the sky with the rain.

Next time it rains, try to describe what type of rain it is using one of the expressions above.

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, 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:
http://groups.msn.com/BeandMe/calendar.msnw

Be & Me Announcements:
http://groups.msn.com/BeandMe/announcements.msnw

Inner Sky - June Edition

Last Friday's "Inner Sky" concert was great! Good music, good hamburgers, good friends! What more could you want?

Here are a couple of photos...

Café Bossa Sae and Koba with Kurisan

Goodman Bad (Glenn on bass & Simon on guitar/vocals) with Spleen on drums

The next "Inner Sky" is on Friday, July 18th. Write it in your schedule books now!

Concert Tomorrow Night

Our friend Simon is the music man! I first met him when he was playing for Tripod Jimmy, one of the best bands to ever come out of Osaka…or anywhere! Since then, he has been in so many different bands, I can’t begin to list them.

Every month, Simon organises Inner Sky, a concert at Covent Garden, a friendly bar in Kita Horie. This month’s Inner Sky promises to be one of the best ever. Goodman Bad (Simon & Glenn) are going to be joined by Spleen, Tripod Jimmy’s old drummer. They will definitely ROCK!

Also, Goodman Bad is going to share the stage with Café Bossa Sae and Koba, a cool bossa nova duo. And Café Bossa Sae and Koba are going to be joined by Kurasan, a really good sax player.

Here’s a rough guide to the night’s schedule:

8:30 pm - Goodman Bad (Simon on guitar & vocals, Glenn on bass)

9:20 pm - Café Bossa Sae and Koba featuring Kurasan on sax

10:10 pm - Goodman Bad with Spleen on drums and Kurasan

11:00 pm - Goodman Bad with Spleen


When? Friday, June 20th, from 8:00 till late!

Where? Covent Garden, Kita Horie (06 – 4391 – 3177)

How much? 1000 yen, which includes 1 drink

Drums, sax, male & female vocals, bass, and 2 guitars – it’s going to be a great night! Why don’t you join us?!

Gaijin Sounds CD Release Party

Every month we get copies of JapanZine, an English-language guide to what’s happening in Japan, delivered to Be & Me for our students.

Earlier this year, JapanZine held a contest for indies rock bands with foreign members. They called the contest Gaijin Sounds 2008. They received nearly 100 demo tapes from all over Japan. They put the best 12 tracks on a CD called Gaijin Sounds Volume 1.

The Cover of Gaijin Sounds Volume 1

Tomorrow night, Saturday June 14th, they are holding a free CD release party at Zerro (06-6211-0439), a bar in Shinsaibashi. (Click here for a map to Zerro) The concert is free, the first 100 customers will be given a free copy of the CD, and there will be live music by Abunai Jones (I love that name!) and DJ Ginzu3.

Abunai Jones (I love this photo, too!)

I will definitely be going to this event! If you want to come, you can meet me at the school at 7:00 pm (don’t be late!) or come straight to Zerro any time after 7:30 pm. Hope to see you there!

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:

http://groups.msn.com/BeandMe/calendar.msnw

Be & Me Announcements:

http://groups.msn.com/BeandMe/announcements.msnw

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?!

"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。

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?"

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:

http://groups.msn.com/BeandMe/calendar.msnw

Be & Me Announcements:

http://groups.msn.com/BeandMe/announcements.msnw

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).

Anzac Day

Today is Anzac Day. Anzac Day is an important holiday in both Australia and New Zealand. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps [a corps is a big group of people working together. It’s pronounced “Korr”), whose soldiers were known as the Anzacs. Anzac Day remembers all Australian and New Zealand soldiers who have died in war.

The Anzacs first fought together in World War One. April 25th 1915 is the day the Anzacs first landed at Gallipoli, in Turkey. Their goal was to travel inland from Gallipoli and take Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, which was helping Germany in the war.

Unfortunately, the plan didn’t work. The Anzacs were stuck on the beach at Gallipoli for 8 months. Conditions were very bad. Many soldiers - both the Anzacs and the defending Turks - were wounded. Many others got sick. Finally, the Anzacs had to retreat. In that time, more than 8,000 Australian and 2,700 New Zealand soldiers were killed.

Australia and New Zealand were relatively “new” countries. Even though the Gallipoli attack had been a failure, the determination and sacrifice of the Anzacs had a big impact on the national identity of both countries.

Anzac Day starts with a dawn service (a Christian ceremony to remember the dead, held at dawn [just as the sun begins to rise]). Later in the morning, parades are held in almost every town and city across both countries. Veterans [returned soldiers] march through the streets followed by active soldiers, and other uniformed service groups. The parades usually finish at monuments remembering the war dead, where more ceremonies are held. As part of these ceremonies, wreaths [circles of flowers] are placed at the feet of the monuments and buglers play “The Last Post” [a very sad sounding piece of music].

Returned soldiers march in an Anzac Day Parade

A bugler plays “The Last Post”

People lay wreaths

In the afternoon (or the weekend before), various sporting events are held to commemorate the day. The most notable of these is the Anzac Test Match, a rugby league game played between the Australian and New Zealand national teams.

After all the ceremonies and games are finished, parties are held for the veterans. These parties often take place in pubs or Returned Servicemen’s Clubs (RSL’s). During the First World War, soldiers often relaxed by playing gambling games. The most popular game was “Two-Up,” a simple coin-tossing game. Although it’s now illegal, games of “Two-Up” are usually an important part of the veterans’ parties.

A “Two-Up” board

***

The 1981 Peter Weir movie Gallipoli is a moving retelling of the Anzac story. This movie is also famous for introducing a very young Mel Gibson to international audiences.

***

Tonight, Murphy's Irish Pub, in Shinsaibashi, is holding an Anzac Day party, featuring Australian and New Zealand beers and Australian meat pies.

On Sunday, Tin's Hall, in Tennoji, is holding an Anzac BBQ from 5:00 pm. They’ll be serving Australian and New Zealand beers and food, and playing Aussie & Kiwi music all night. At 9:30 pm they’ll observe a minutes silence in memory of the Anzacs.

Really Good Concert this Friday Night!

Every month, our friend Simon hosts a concert called “Inner Sky” at Covent Garden (06-4391-3177), in Kita Horie. Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the last concert because I was too busy. I've since heard it was very good.

This month's concert sounds like it's going to be even better! Simon's band Goodman Bad will be doing unplugged covers of 80s pop and 90s grunge. Cool Bossa Nova duo Sae and Koba will also be playing. They will be joined by Kurasan onthe alto sax. DJ Barry will be spinning tunes between sets and into the small hours.

Inner Sky - Goodman Bad, sae & koba (featuring Kurasan), & DJ Barry

4/18(金)　

北堀江の外国人バー Covent Garden (06-4391-3177)にて

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。

Unfortunately, I probably won't be there until after 10:00 pm. Hope to see you there!

Ola, Amigos!

Our all-time favorite place to hang out in Osaka is Ola Tacos Bar. Friendly staff and great food – why wouldn’t it be?

Ola is celebrating its 7th anniversary this weekend. It promises to be a wild weekend! If you’re looking for something to do this Friday or Saturday night, there’s only one place to go!

For more information, go to Ola Tacos Bar, Osaka.

４月４日（金）・５日（土）Ola Tacos Bar's 7th Anniversary Party!

おかげ様で７周年を迎えることが できましたほんとにありがとうございます！これからも元気に楽しくやってきま～すどうぞよろしくお願いしますパーティはまたもやテキーラ祭 ! （怖がらないでね） それに新兵器も登場です(笑）みんなで飲んで踊って誕生日をお祝いしてください