みなさん、こんにちは！オンライン”スクールカレンダー＆お知らせ”の ページをアップデイトしました！当月のサービスレッスン日やキッズクラスの日程、祝 日やイベント案内が日本語で確認できます。
“The Mikado” is a famous Gilbert & Sullivan musical that is popular in Europe. Maybe that’s why Glico changed the name for the European market.
The above poster of Barack Obama (on the left) became very famous when he was campaigning to be President back in 2008. Recently, I found this parody poster (on the right). "To change" means "to transform." The robot in the poster is Optimus Prime, leader of the good Transformers.
the Be ＆ Me 英会話 Club Halloween Picnic for kids
Halloween is here! You can start to celebrate from this Sunday!
It's October already! That means Halloween ( ハロウィン ) is coming soon. This Sunday, October 9th, Be & Me 英会話 Club is holding a Halloween craft lesson for kids at the Tsurumi Kumin Center, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm. Rigby, Mayumi, and guest teacher Melanie will be teaching kids how to make masks and decorations for Halloween. The charge is ¥1,500 (¥1,000 yen for existing students and their immediate family [brother, sister, son &/or daughter]). Call 06-6915-2613 before Saturday at 6:00 pm to make a reservation.
みなさん、こんにちは！オンライン”スクールカレンダー＆お知らせ”の ページをアップデイトしました！当月のサービスレッスン日やキッズクラスの日程、祝 日やイベント案内が日本語で確認できます。
Aimi & Hiroki Laughing at "The Pirates of the Dotombori"
Rigby & Mayumi (Be ＆ Me 英会話 Club) at the FIFO International Party in Shinsaibashi, Osaka
On Saturday, September 10th, my family & I went to MateRock, a Tohoku-Earthquake charity concert organised by a group of Australians (and their Japanese family & friends) living in Hakuba, Japan. The top 5 acts were big-name performers from Australia. Of course, they were supported by some talented bands, drummers, and dancers from Japan. 
Good news: The Puzzle Project exhibition at the Tachibana Gallery ( 06-6532-4395 ), in Nishi-Hommachi, has been extended to Saturday, September 17th.
The ongoing Puzzle Project is holding another exhibition from today, September 5th, until Saturday, September 10th. There will be more than 450 puzzle pieces on show at the Tachibana Gallery ( 06-6532-4395 ), in Nishi-Hommachi. There will be an opening party this evening from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.
みなさん、こんにちは！オンライン”スクールカレンダー＆お知らせ”の ページをアップデイトしました！当月のサービスレッスン日やキッズクラスの日程、祝 日やイベント案内が日本語で確認できます。
The bilingual comedy group "Pirates of the Dotombori" is doing another show at Tin's Hall (06-6773-5955), a damn fine bar in Tennoji, on Sunday, August 28th, from 6:00 pm. The show is part of a swimsuit & BBQ event. It looks like the Pirates might be doing a parody of AKB48 as part of their show. The charge is ¥2,000. That includes food from the BBQ. Hope to see you there!
みなさん、こんにちは！オンライン”スクールカレンダー＆お知らせ”の ページをアップデイトしました！当月のサービスレッスン日やキッズクラスの日程、祝 日やイベント案内が日本語で確認できます。Here’s a short video of The PUZZLE PROJECT at KIX that I shot last Saturday night in Uni Pon Pon Kau Kau, a cool bar & gallery space in Umeda, Osaka. To see so many pieces by so many different artists on the walls at the same time was really impressive.
The music in this video is from “Mondo Erotica!” by Jun Miyake. I first heard this album while drinking at Uni Pon Pon Kau Kau. I was so impressed, I went out & bought it the very next day!
Back in March, I wrote about The Puzzle Project at KIX. Those puzzle pieces are now on show in Umeda, Osaka. Takashi Inaba, the organiser of the Puzzle Project, has a bar & gallery space in Umeda called Uni Pon Pon Kau Kau (06-6313-2644).
みなさん、こんにちは！オンライン”スクールカレンダー＆お知らせ”の ページをアップデイトしました！当月のサービスレッスン日やキッズクラスの日程、祝 日やイベント案内が日本語で確認できます。
Recently, I was teaching some lessons in a kindergarten. One of the classrooms was decorated with the students' paintings of space. Most of the paintings featured a drawing of the student in an origami rocket with a background of stars. The above painting caught my eye because it had all the important things you expect to see in a painting of space - stars, a rocket, the Earth, the Sun, and The Flying Spaghetti Monster (explained in Japanese)!
みなさん、こんにちは！オンライン”スクールカレンダー＆お知らせ”の ページをアップデイトしました！当月のサービスレッスン日やキッズクラスの日程、祝 日やイベント案内が日本語で確認できます。
This weekend (May 28th & 29th), there's a big international charity concert being held in Ogimachi Park, near Umeda. The event is scheduled to start at 11:00 am each day (but don't go too early -- these events usually take a couple of hours to warm up!) The concert is free. There will also be some stalls & information booths. Money raised through donations, t-shirt sales, and so on will be used to help to help the victims of the Tohoku Earthquake. 
Simon, Shinchan, & Glen work their magic!
Buzz Lightyear & Woody
I've often said one of the great things about living in Japan is all of the interesting people I've been able to meet. One of those people is professional jazz drummer Tommy Campbell. He has played with such jazz giants as Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, & The Manhattan Transfer, just to name a few.
Tommy & friends (his & ours) at our wedding party. Tommy's in the back of that photo and he's still towering over everyone!
This Sunday, April 24th, is Easter – the most important Christian holiday.
By the way, did you know most famous comic-book heroes have a girl version? There's...
Batgirl
Supergirl 
Spider-girl
Tonight, our friend Simon Yates will be playing live acoustic music at Andy's Imagine (090-1133-1501), a cool little bar in Rokkomichi, near Kobe. It's a charity concert to help the victims of the recent earthquake. If you're down Kobe way (or you're looking for an excuse to be down Kobe way), you should definitely check it out. We hope to see you there! 
Last Sunday, we held our annual Be & Me Spring Picnic in Tsurumi Ryokuchi Park, in Osaka. We had a great day – despite the cold! There were nearly as many cosplayers as picnickers!
みなさん、こんにちは！オンライン”スクールカレンダー＆お知らせ”の ページをアップデイトしました！当月のサービスレッスン日やキッズクラスの日程、祝 日やイベント案内が日本語で確認できます。
