Killer Cucumber

The death after eating raw meat has still been controversial in Japan, but now raw vegetables like cucumbers become a massive talking point in Germany and some other European countries.

A major outbreak of Escherichia coli has killed 11 people and may infected over 1000 others.

It is thought that contaminated cucumbers were imported from Spain, but further tests are being carried out.




The aggressive form of E. coli is known to cause kidney failure and affect the central nervous system.

And in many of the reported cases, the gastrointestinal infection has led to Hemolytic-uremic Syndrome.

The symptoms include bloody diarrhea and stomach cramps.

Unfortunately it's difficult to treat with antibiotics.




It's too tragic to be killed by cucumbers...

Fruit-Miso Chicken Burger

My lunch today was here.

Mos Burger's new product  "Fruit-Miso Chicken Burger"

It's hard for me to express the taste.

I had never eaten such a unique burger until today.




Mos burger have collaborated with the morning show "Sukkiri" in  making new products, and that one is the third masterpiece for them.



Let's try!!

Ay Yai Yai

I bought new CDs at Tower Records yesterday.

Both are popular now: the left one "One Hit Wonders" has been introduced in many TV shows, and the profit of right one "Songs for Japan" will be donated to the reconstruction of 3.11 disaster.



Especially the left one includes many good songs I heard when I was a kid.



Here is my favorite song "Butterfly" by SMiLE.dk.

This song was used in a game Dance Dance Revolution.


One of my friends had a mat-controller, then we would play the game with it at my house after school.

Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United

Barcelona produced a sublime performance to beat Manchester United 3-1 win the Champions League final at Wembley.

So wonderful it was!!




Barcelona dominated possession with their trademark one touch passing throughout the game.


Rooney's stunning equalizer in the 34th minute excited me so much, but the game was already decided at the moment when Lionel Messi scored the shot in the 54th minute.


There seemed to be no space as Messi was tracked across the 18 meter line by fullback Patrice Evra, but he spotted a gap between the central defenders and hit a shot down the middle, beating goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar for pace.





Barcelona must be a champion because of their magical team work and high-skilled players.





Which team on earth can beat Barcelona??

Champions League Final

I had a lot of things to do this week, so I was too busy to upload my blog.

Sorry.





Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing the Champions League final Manchester United v.s. FC Barcelona tonight.



The decisive battle will be kicked off soon at 3:45(JST).


I have a perfect preparation here now!!

I hope Manchester United will win this game.




Go Rooney Go!! ＼(^o^)／

Unique Houses

I read a book titled "可笑しな家(Okashina Ie; unique houses)".

It shows 60 unique-designed houses in the world.



For example, its cover shows that there is a house between huge rocks in Portugal.





Anyway the most surprising house I've ever seen is here!!

"Untitled 1986" (known as The Headington Shark) in Oxford

→The Headington Shark web page

I found that on my way homestay from downtown.

Have you ever seen any unique houses??

Tigger is sleeping

Amazing!!


Tigger is sleeping on my bed and Aliens (Little Green Men) and Chopper are staring at him.




Whoever decorated like that??

Leaky roof

I played basketball at Mihashi Gym today, but unexpectedly the heavy rain caused some leaks in the roof.

It was hard to play games in that slippery court.

Maru Maru Mori Mori

A 6-year-old actress Mana Ashida and her same aged co-actor Fuku Suzuki made their singing debut this spring.


Their song "Maru Maru Mori Mori!" will be released on May 25th, but that song has already been known to many people as a theme song of Fuji TV's Sunday drama "Marumo no Okite".


The following video is the ending of that drama.

So cute!!


Their adorable dance can be a trigger to make their song popular.


That dance was created by Hamada "Peco" Miwako, who also choreographed the "Gake no Ue no Ponyo" song.




How about trying that dance as a daily exercise?

Move to Chicago

Yesterday's class was the last for one high school syudent.


She will soon leave for the U.S. because her father was told to be transferred to the branch office in Chicago, which means she will go to local school there.




She seemed to be a bit nervous about her future life there.


Absolutely her life must be changed much more differently than she'd expected so far.





Her classmates held a small farewell party for her yesterday.


Her move can also be a powerful incentive for other students.





Don't you think it interesting for us to communicate with her in English through a web camera?

Biting remarks

Have a look at the following transcript of Kiso-eigo2 Lesson 14.

One of the main character Ayumi came home, and her grandma was there.



A: Hi, Grandma! I'm hungry!

G: Wash your hands. Rinse your mouth, too.

A: Oh, Grandma... OK, OK. Can I have a snack?

G: No! Wait until dinner.

A: But Grandma....

G: Finish your homework before dinner!

A: Grandma... I'm hungry now.

G: Then drink some water!

(A=Ayumi, G=Grandma)





What a strict Grandma!! lol

She must be a spreme commander in that house. (^□^;)

Worst TV program for kids

According to the latest survey of the Japan PTA Council, TV Asahi's "London Hearts" is the worst TV program for kids.


That program has been ranked the worst for eight years.


The second worst program is TV Asahi's long-run animation "Crayon Shin-chan", and the third one is Fuji TV's "Mecha Mecha Iketeru".




The main reasons why the parents don't want kinds to see them are like this:

・They are too ridiculous.
・They use vulgar language.
・They include a gross deviation from the moral.
・They may be a hotbed of bullying and prejudice.




Hmm......exactly.


I think the recent children are less kinder to others than they were in the past.

Probably they are strongly influenced by some TV shows and can't separate fact from fiction.





That survey includes many other items.

If you're interested in that, have a look at this→22年度-子どもとメディアに関する意識調査（pdf）

NAKANO styling wax

I bought a hair wax here.

NAKANO styling wax 6

I've used that one since I was a high school student.


After trying many other waxes such as Gatsby and mod's hair, I found NAKANO ones are comfortable.


There are many kinds of NAKANO wax (→NAKANO styling wax Lineup), but I think its number 6 is the best to my hair.





Anyway I've never tried its number 7, the hardest one.


If you've ever tried that before, please give me some frank comments on it.

Pikachu

A wild Pikachu appears!


Gee......I don't have any monster balls today. (￣◇￣*)

130%

What!!!???  Is that sure??


I've never seen over-100%-juice before.




Hmm......it tastes a little more bitter than usual 100% one...........maybe.

Operation Himawari

Japanese researchers are planning a project to plant as much sunflowers as possible, which will remove redioactive cesium from contaminated soil around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.



It is known that some plants absorb radioactive substances in soil, and especially sunflowers have powerful absorbing ability.

They can absorb more than 95% of radioactive materials in only 20 days.




The following illustration is helpful to understand that operation.

Researchers believe that suflowers will be a symbol of recovery in the areas affected by the nuvlear crisis.

Last day of my Golden Week

Yesterday was my last day of Golden Week.


I spent that day shopping at AEON Yono.

This Asian-style shop "Cayhane" is one of my favorite place.


There are so many ethnic clothings, goods, accessories, and ornaments that we can enjoy just looking at them as if we were in a museum.



I bought an Afgani Pants (= Sarrouel Pants) there.

It's a baggy trouser and its cloth is thin.

So comfortable when the muggy summer comes.





I dropped in at Global Work and bought one T-shirt after that.

Blue horizontal stripes produce a fresh atmosphere.






Finally I bought one unique book impulsively at the bookstore.

Many essential elements of making good staffs are described in easy Japanese.


I think that more and more people had better learn how to make a good work environment like this book.

Niku-jiru Udon

I ate too much Udon yesterday...

Here is the restaurant "Musashino Udon Fujiwara" near Saitama Shintoshin.

Once Hidehiko Ishizuka, one of the comedy duo Honjamaka, visited that shop and admired them for the  taste with his famous phrase "Maiu~ (delicious)".



The most popular menu is Niku-jiru Udon.

A lot of pork and Japanese leek (green onion) are in the soup.


Simple but tasty!!

Happy Mother's Day

The second Sunday in May is Mother's Day.


In Japan, people give carnations as a way of saying "thank you" to their mothers, who raised them with loving care.



I dropped in at the flower shop near my workplace to buy some carnations for my mother.

There were many kinds of carnations at that shop.


I wanted to buy some unusual ones, and shop owner told me the trendy carnations.


Then I bought them.

The shape of the petals is so remarkable.



Happy Mother's Day!! (^o^)

Foggy Night

It's foggy night!!

Can you see the dim lights? They looks beautiful as neon lamps.





And here is the road in front of my house.

It's just like Privet Drive, where baby Harry Potter was taken and put by Dumbledore.



Mysterious but exciting night!!

24.5 points → White Dish

I could collect over 24 points of Yamazaki Haru no Panmatsuri at last!!

Then I exchaged that mount for a white dish.

Yamazaki Baking Co. started this campaign before 3.11.


Panic buying of food and other basic supplies had left supermarkets and convenience stores' shelves empty, so that there were no Yamazaki products at that time.


After about one month absence, Yamazaki Baking Co. resumed the campaign.





I'll always cherish this dish!! (^o^)

Iris Bath

Yesterday was the Children's Day.


We did nothing special but put Japanese iris in our bath as a traditional event.

It is said that iris bath, or Shobu-yu in Japanese, is a miraculous prophylactic against all kinds of sickness.



Boys, be ambitious!! (^o^)/

Meat Goodbye

The death toll in a string of food poisoning cases at a Japanese barbecue restaurant chain Ebisu has risen to four after a 70-year-old woman died today.


The restaurant chain has admitted that it had failed for the last two years to conduct hygiene inspections of raw meat supplied for the dish by a Tokyo-based wholesaler.


Around 30 people have been hospitalized in the food poisoning outbreak, with about 20 in a serious condition.


Enterohemorrhagic E. coli bacteria includig O-111 and O-157 strains have been detected in many of the cases.






Nobody cannot distinguish the difference between raw fish and raw meat, but unskeptically we might see them in the same category.


Anyway, we have to say goodbye to raw meat.

Justice has been done?

You may be relieved or even ecstatic about the end of a symbol of terror, or maybe it seems like the pain is just beginning all over again.



One of the FBI's most wanted criminals Osama bin Laden, who is the mastermind behind the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, has been shot dead after a gun battle.



A U.S. military operation involving Navy SEALs assaulted the compound, where Osama bin Laden was hiding out in Pakistan.



The following pictures are helpful to know what happened as a raid.

"Justice has been done."

That's what President Obama said when he announced bin Laden's death.



There is no doubt that Osama bin Laden was the most dangerous terrorist in the world.

But......it's hard for me to understand that the people in the U.S. are celebrating his death.



Bin Laden is dead, but al Qaeda is not.

They may be seeking vengeance on his murderer.



Can hard power bring us peace?



Rightly or wrongly, his death has a significant meaning.





I've already asked you a simple question on my former article http://eh-take.blogspot.com/2010/09/god-knows.html, but I really wanted to ask you again that,


What is "justice"?

Youngest Football Player

Dutch football club VVV Venlo recently offered 18-month-old Baerke van der Meij a 10 year professional football contract, which makes him to set the new world record for the youngest professional soccer player.

So cute, isn't he?




And he is too young to write any letters.

This is his sign.

It's so dynamic!! (^▽^) haha





The team spotted the toddler on YouTube kicking three soccer balls into a toy box and were very impressed with his skills.

Wonderful that he has a very good right-footed shooting skill!!

Bancho has gone

One of my respectable former bosses Mr.Okamoto has been transferred from Urawa to Kanagawa.


My friend and I presented the plastic model of a famous ship to him as to show our many thanks.

※ A finished product is like this.

Anyway, our Principality of Zeon was completely annihilated at that time...



Perhaps I'll never go to Eikoh ever after. (^□^;)

First of May

Time flies!!


Only then did I realize that it was May.




It's May 1st today so that I'd like you to know the Bee Gees' nostalgic song "First of May".

This song was used in the film "Melody"(1971), which used to be a great hit only in Japan.



※ Bee Gees is known for "Stayin' Alive" or "Night Fever".

If you're interested in them, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_izvAbhExY and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ihs-vT9T3Q.




Then here is the "First of May". (Sorry it's not the official music video)

[lyrics]

When I was small and Christmas trees were tall
we used to love while others used to play

Don't ask me why, but time has passed us by
someone else moved in from far away


Now we are tall
and Christmas trees are small
and you don't ask the time of day

But you and I
our love will never die
but guess who'll cry
come fisrt of May


The apple tree that grew for you and me
I watched the apples falling one by one

And I recall the moment of them all
the day I kissed your cheek
and you were gone


Now we are tall
and Christmas trees are small
and you don't ask the time of day

But you and I
our love will never die
but guess who'll cry
come first of May


When I was small
and Christmas trees were tall
do do do do do do do do do

Don't ask me why
but time has passed us by
someone else moved in from far away