Last Night's Lunar Eclipse

At 7:30 pm last night, Tomoko, Yuki & I interrupted our lesson for a quick fieldtrip. We went out onto the stairway of the school’s building to check out the Lunar Eclipse I wrote about in yesterday's Blog entry . Luckily, the clouds that had filled the sky for most of the day had cleared…

The View from the Stairs

Up Close

To be honest, the real view was much darker than these pictures. At first we couldn’t see the moon at all. We were about to go back to the classroom when Yuki’s eagle eyes spotted it lurking in the night sky.

Don’t forget to check out yesterday's Blog entry for an explanation of what an eclipse is and an example of how you can use the word “eclipse” in daily conversation!

Eclipse

When the light from the Sun is blocked by a moon or planet, it’s called an “eclipse.”

The most famous kind of eclipse is a solar eclipse, when the light of the Sun is blocked by the Moon.

A Solar Eclipse

How it Happens

A lunar eclipse is when the light of the Sun is blocked from shining on the Moon by the Earth.

A Lunar Eclipse

How it Happens

These excellent photos & diagrams come from http://www.mreclipse.com/MrEclipse.html

Tonight from 7:00 pm to about 8:30 pm, you should be able to watch a lunar eclipse – if it isn’t too cloudy! Just look for the full moon and then watch it turn red.

In conversation English, “to eclipse” can also mean to make another thing or person less famous or successful by being more famous or successful. For example, in the 1980s, handsome young actor Eric Roberts seemed certain to become a big star.

Eric Roberts

However, he was soon eclipsed by his little sister…

Julia Roberts

If you want to check out Eric Roberts at his best, I recommend these movies:

Star 80 (1983)

The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)

The Coca-Cola Kid (1985)

(Click on the titles to get more information about these movies in Japanese)

The Kansai International Film Festival

The first Kansai International Film Festival (KIFF) starts today. Thirty-two “Japanese Films Made by Foreigners!” will be shown at Planet Station, in Morinomiya.

The film categories include: Documentary, Culture-Clash, Experimental, The Dark Side, Wabi-Sabi ("Japanese" films), and more. The directors come from ten different countries, and will no doubt present a view of Japan quite different from that in the mainstream Japanese media.

My friend Rik Sanchez will be there giving away DVDs of Nylon, a short film he made with writer/director/actor Kevin Karn. If you see him, go up & say, “Hello!” (He’s the guy with chilli peppers tattooed on his arm.) If you are friendly enough, he might give you a DVD.

KIFF organizer Darryl Knickrehm will be one of the featured filmmakers. His work Rodosha will be shown twice. Other featured works include Reggie Life’s Doubles, Junko Kajino and Ed Koziarski’s Homesick Blues, Rachael Lucas’s Bondi Tsunami, and many, many more. I’ve heard especially good things about Bondi Tsunami.

Details can be found on the KIFF websites:

kansaifilm.com

Cell phone users

Place: Planet Station (map and address in Japanese here) in Morinomiya, which is on the Osaka loop line.

Dates: August 24, 25, 26 (Fri, Sat, Sun)Time: 12-9 pm divided into 2 hour screenings

Categories: Documentary, Culture-Clash, Experimental, The Dark Side, Wabi-Sabi ("Japanese" films) and More

Screen: main screen = 140 seat theater

Admission: Free

It's free! What are you waiting for?

By the way, I was in a rush this morning so I stole this entry from Japan Visitor Blog. Sorry, Guys!

Inner Sky this Friday!

Our friend Simon organises a monthly concert called Inner Sky. The next Inner Sky is on this Friday, August 17th, at Covent Garden, in Horie.

Acoustic 80s pop and 90s grunge will be provided by Goodman Bad –this time Simon on guitar is joined by bass stalwart Glen Gregus, back in Japan after many years of pro engagements in Australia, and Eric Wiegman of The Native Tongues on percussion, so the sound should be full and danceable.

That night will also feature a couple of Simon’s friends' birthdays, so a build-in crowd of rowdy drinkers will help bring the party up to speed.

1000 yen with 1 drink from about 8:30 onwards.

Come on down!

今月の「インナー・スカイ」（アコーステック音楽のライブイベント）が8月17日(金)に行われます。Goodman　Bandというバンドがゲストを迎え、80年代のポップスや90年代のGrungeをAcousticで再現します。17日のゲストはAustralia出身ベースのプロGlen Gregusと大阪のパーカッション名人Eric　Wiegmanです。お楽しみに。

さらにその日は、熱血ファンのAnnaさんの誕生日なので、パーティの雰囲気で新しい曲に挑戦し、盛り上がるのは間違いありません。

場所は堀江のCovent Gardenです。

２０：３０から \１０００(１ドリンク付)

Ｔｅｌ：06(4391)3177

English at Home

Today is the first day of my summer holidays – woo-woo! It’s only 6 days, but boy am I ready!

The Be & Me Eikaiwa Club will open again on Saturday, August 18th. If you’re missing your English lessons, you should check out English at Home.com. This site has lots of different material you can use to study English at home.

The Menu Selection from English at Home.com

Unfortunately, their listening-practice page isn’t working yet. If you want to download some short Podcasts to practice your listening with, don’t forget to check out Listen to English.com . (If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you should go straight to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. While you’re there, don’t forget to click on the “Grammar Note” at the bottom of the entry – it’s very important!)

And speaking of Harry Potter, You can find a bunch of [a lot] our Harry Potter-themed Halloween photos on the following links:

Halloween 2001 at Mito's Bar

Halloween 2001 at Bar Soul Flower

Halloween 2001 at Tin's Hall

(Don’t forget to check out the 2nd & 3rd pages of each of those links!)

Enjoy your holidays!

Time Flies!

Wow! What happened to the last 2 weeks? They just seemed to fly by! In English, we often say that “time flies when we’re having fun.” This means that when we are having fun, time passes quickly. I’m not too sure if I’ve been having fun in the last 2 weeks (2 months!) – I’ve been too busy to notice! Actually, since the beginning of June, I’ve been flat out like a lizard drinking! (Click on the expression to find out what it means.)

Oh, well! The summer holidays are just around the corner [coming soon]. Hopefully, I’ll find the time to put some more interesting posts on this Blog!

By the way, in British English instead of saying “2 weeks,” we often say “fortnight.”

Also, if for some reason you want to buy the clock in the photo, click here! However, please remember that it’s not a real clock – just a toy!