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| porcelain-monkey |
| Daily Life and Interests of a New Zealand English Language Instructor in Nagoya Aichi Japan.Revviews of books,dvds,music and the odd photo |
| Language: English |
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Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 0 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 337 |
| Visitors Out: 3570 |
| Total Visitors Out: 22901 |
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| Toothless in Nagoya |
| 2008-09-22 05:40:00 |
There was a loud rendering crunch.I started eating lead.Blood.The apple flavoured stick of KissMint I was masticating had prised off one of my fillings.I spat the dull gray metal onto my desk.Borrowing my co-workers pink Hello Kitty makeup mirror I gingerly inspected the damage.A small cavity.No.More like an abyss or a chasm.Not good.What to do.Saturday.I could trek out to one of the three places in Nagoya that offered dental services over the weekend.Or bide my time and wait two days and find a local dentist.As the pain was bearable due to the numbing effects of alcohol I decided to delay my visit to the dentist a little longer.I mean..not having been to a dentist for five years what harm could another two days do.Luckily a friend gave me the name of an English speaking dentist so with so...
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| Friday Flash..Autumn Tea |
| 2008-09-19 08:06:00 |
You can always tell which season of the year it is by looking at the products on sale at convenience stores,supermarkets and the like.Gradually over the last few days the local convenience store has been filling its shelves and coolers with autumnal fare and drinks.Typical of the products available are these bottles of tea adorned in the orange reds and browns of fall....
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| Sumo...Up in Smoke |
| 2008-09-14 18:47:00 |
The first day of the Autumn Sumo Tournament began yesterday set against a drug scandal that has been capturing headlines and television coverage over the last month.The drama began following the arrest of a Russian wrestler Wakanoho after police claimed a small amount of marijuana was found in his wallet.After an emergency meeting on August 21 the Japan Sumo Association dismissed him and handed down a lifetime ban.He has the dubious honour of being the first active wrestler to be given his marching orders.Wakanoho,whose real name is Soslan Aleksandrovich Gagloev,has subsequently filed a lawsuit to nullify his dismissal.Following on from his arrest the JSA tested all 69 wrestlers in the top two divisions. Two other Russian wrestlers,Roho and Hakurozan,who are brothers,tested positive for th...
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| Friday Flash..Additions to KitKat and Haagen Dazs |
| 2008-09-11 19:12:00 |
Two new items I spied on the shelves this past week.First up is the new KitKat flavour,Muscat of Alexandria.As the illustration on the box indicates these are grape flavoured KitKats.The photo shows a somewhat lighter green KitKat stick as I had put the box into my fridge prior to taking the photo.Straight out of the box,off the shelf,the KitKats are a more vivid green and also more sticky as the outside layer melts in the late summer heat heat.Nonetheless straight off the shelf or out of the fridge these have quite a pleasant taste.Another addition to the Haagen Dazs range is Maple Cookie.The ice cream has a maple flavour which greets you as you open the plastic lid.Mixed through the ice cream are small fragments of cookie dough.Very sweet and cloying.Im not sure I could get through more...
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| Printed Temptations.. |
| 2008-09-07 19:51:00 |
Printed Temptations is the title of an exhibition currently running at the Nagoya City Art Museum.Odd title.Odd exhibition.The blurb reads.."Published art isnt just limited to standard printing.Printed art can be found in a diverse range of medium-from photographs to postage stamps."So its a pretty loose brief and thats my primary problem with the exhibition.There appeared to be no focus.One expected to see printed material but other medium are also on show.Sure there are prints and photographs.There were even posters of previous exhibitions which seemed no more than an attempt to fill out the show. Nothing spectacular.Nothing even particularly tempting.Lots of nondescript black and white photos.Theres a series of photos taken of winding towers.Nothing a good amateur weekend camera buff co...
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| Friday Flash..Irish Iron Merchandise 2008 |
| 2008-09-04 18:27:00 |
Some of the new merchandise available from Irish Iron,the official supporters club of Scunthorpe United Football Club based in Ireland.Proceeds from sales of their merchandise and membership fees go to the club as players kit sponsorship.Check out the website for more details of their range of merchandise at www.irishiron.blogspot.com.Above is a shot of the new Irish Iron supporters scarf complete with green shamrock. An Irish Iron polo shirt.There are currently three Republic of Ireland players at Scunthorpe and one player from Northern Ireland hence the Irish connection with the club.An Irish Iron baseball cap in an attractive,fetching green complete with wide brim to protect the wearer from the elements....
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| Houjicha KitKats |
| 2008-08-31 17:49:00 |
Another addition to the KitKat confectionery range.The actual spelling of the main ingredient seems to vary.Ive seen it spelt as "houji","hoji" and "hoj" but Im sticking with "houji" having consulted several Japanese friends.Whatever the proper spelling,houji is a kind of green tea.It differs from other green teas because it is roasted over charcoal.This apparently not only changes the leaf colour from green to brown but also produces a less astringent,milder light to reddish brown tea.In fact the taste is so mild that I thought it was pretty average when I sampled one of the mini bars straight from the pack.It was difficult to distinguish it from other chocolate products.It was only after I put the pack into my refrigerator and ate one later that I could detect the houji taste coming thro...
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| Nippon Domanaka Festival |
| 2008-08-31 17:35:00 |
Billed as Japans largest dance festival with over 200 teams and some 23,000 dancers the Nippon Domannaka Festival was held over last weekend.With Saturdays torrential rain I saw many dancers who looked like drowned rats in their soaking wet costumes.Fortunately the weather cleared on Sunday.It was impossible to go anywhere in central Nagoya without seeing a group of colourful performers going to and from one of the many venues dotted around the city.Many groups also had their own unique transport and support vehicles including this unusually decorated vehicle that not only caught my eye but also that of many other passers-by....
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| Two More Delicious Treats |
| 2008-08-31 17:05:00 |
Two more treats from the local bakery/patisserie.The first is a a thick sponge with a creamy lemon flavoured interior.It had quite a sharp zesty,refreshing taste despite its somewhat bland appearance.Topped with a couple of raspberries and a sliver of white chocolate. The second photo shows a circular blueberry sponge topped with a sweet glaze and two blueberries.On cutting into the interior of the thick brown sponge one is greeted with a bluish,purple interior of blueberies.The small round sponge sits atop a chewy caramel biscuit...
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| Friday Flash..Some more Mejij-Mura Photos |
| 2008-08-28 18:47:00 |
Four final shots from MejiMura.There are a variety of buildings and architectural styles on view.The first shot shows the side of a huge sake brewery.The building is on a hill overlooking some of the other buildings.The entrance to one of the larger,grander wooden houses located in the grounds.The small kabuki theatre on the grounds.The final shot is an interior one of a prison cell complete with a smiling inmate.The cell is just slightly smaller than my apartment and better furnished.There are a number of prison buildings and structures within Meiji Mura....
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