Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

GOMORRAH：Viaggio nell'impero economico e nel sogno di dominio della camorra by Roberto Saviano

     I read the Japanese translation of an Italian book of this title, which handled the dark side of Italian society. I'm not going to explain Gomorrah here in detail because I think you know all about it. Gomorrah, along with Sodom, are known as the cities of "Sin" in the Old Testament. In this book Gomorrah implies the Italian city of Naples.
     I got really scared of the Italian mafia after reading this book. Firstly I wondered if the content was actually real because their conduct was unbelievably savage and cruel, but I remembered that a few incidents in the book had been reported by some media before. The content of this book must be correct.
     Naples is said to be beautiful and one of the places I want to visit. Do you know the proverb, "see Naples and die"? Besides, this city is the base for sightseeing Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii. I've thought that I'd like to visit there some day for a long time, but now I don't want to go there at all.
     Rome or Italy used to be the center of the world. There are lots of brilliant ruins across the country. They also used to be the epicenter of the arts and other technologies. Why did this traditional country become unsafe.
     The author seems to have been attacked by the Mafia and seriously injured. I don't know his present condition, but I wish for his complete recovery.

(Vocabulary)
Sodom and Gomorrah ソドムとゴモラ (聖書で，罪悪のため神に滅ぼされた2つの町)
the Old Testament  旧約聖書
See Naples and (then) die.《諺》  ナポリを見てから死ね。
a base for famous ski resorts  拠点
Mount Vesuvius  ヴェスヴィオ火山
Pompeii　ポンペイ
Mafia  マフィア

(KW: 死都ゴモラ　ナポリ)

Spring Has Come

     Across the road from my house is set as the waste collection spot. When I say so, you might feel the space is somewhere dirty, or that I hate this situation. In fact, however, the waste site is always kept clean by neighbors, and besides now, the cherry trees are starting to come into bloom. I go to work every morning seeing these trees in this season. Season changing reminds me of the flow of time and encourages me to do work or something enjoyable more often, because I feel it tells me the rest of life is getting short. Life is wonderful, I really think so.
     The second picture is the swollen buds of the inushide (Carpinus tschonoskii) in my garden. Spring looks like it's coming to my house, too. As it gets warmer, this small garden would be a good space for parties.

(Vocabulary)
come into bloom   開花する
swelling of buds // swollen buds   つぼみの膨らみ

The Rock

     I watched a movie on DVD, "The Rock", starring Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris.

     The story is like this:
     A few dozens of angry marine soldiers who are led by a hero in The Vietnam War seize Alcatraz Island and 81 tourists. The soldiers are discontented with the U.S. top officials. The FBI dispatches a battery of SEAL and an inmate, Sean Connery, who used to be kept in the prison on the island, also an FBI agent, Nicolas Cage, who is just a chemist and works in the FBI laboratory. Sean was meant to be a mere guide of the underground secret tunnels and Nicolas was going to neutralize the enemy's chemical weapons. These two weren't supposed to use the weapons. However, all SEAL members are killed by an enemy trap which meant that Sean and Nicolas had to fight with the professional soldiers.

     As the story goes on, Nicolas gradually realizes that Sean is handy with every kind of weapon. At that time, I was thinking, "Oh, he used to be the British Agent 007". Needless to say, I'm joking. But, exactly at that point in the movie, Sean said, "I was trained by the best. British Intelligence." I couldn't help laughing. Is this movie a comedy or a serious one?
     Anyway, I like Sean's pronunciation. His tone of voice is clear and electrifying. I think it's a useful listening exercise for me. I enjoyed this movie to my heart's content.

(Vocabulary)
be discontent with sth  ～に不満を持つ
as we all know / needless to add / needless to say  言うまでもなく
electrifying  しびれるような

 (KW: ショーン･コネリー　ニコラス･ケイジ　ロック　アルカトラズ刑務所)

Risutora

     The title, "Risutora" means "corporate downsizing" in Japanese and it is from the Japanese pronunciation of "restructuring." Massive job cuts are under way in Japan as well as in the U.S. and the financial crisis is awfully serious. The other day I watched a movie, "Mad City", starring Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta, focusing on unreasonable firing. In the movie, Sam, whom John is playing, is axed and goes to the library which he used to work in for more than 5 years to have a talk with his former boss. He didn't accept his layoff and wanted the backing off of his pink slip. That's it. That should be it.
     However, Sam unexpectedly ended up shooting his colleague on accident and holding children hostage in the library. This originally little incident gets bigger and gets to be watched from all over the U.S. This movie climax with the news that his colleague, whom Sam shot, made a sudden change and died in the hospital.
     I know for a fact that this story is fiction, but it might happen in present Japan. I felt how heavy and serious the responsibility of the government is.
     I wish that one of the world leaders, Mr Barack Hussein Obama will do a good job. However, his inauguration address sounded to be lacking in concrete plans and it was just idealistic. I'm wondering if he can do it, a man who conceded his own second name, "Hussein", during the presidential race. 

(Vocabulary)
corporate downsizing / restructuring    リストラ
mass firing / massive job cuts / wholesale   大量解雇
banking crisis / financial crisis / financial meltdown  金融危機
climax with　　～とクライマックスを迎える

タイトルは　corporate downsizing の意味でrestructuring を日本語読みにした言葉から来ている。日本でも労働者の大量解雇が続いており、金融危機は深刻である。先日、ホフマン、トラボルタ主演の映画　Mad Cityを見た。時給８ドルの警備員が雇い主の都合で解雇され、抗議をしている最中に偶然が重なり大変な事態になっていく。フィクションではあるが、今すぐに日本で起こっても不思議のない話であった。為政者の責任の重大さに思いを馳せた。自分の名前を伏せて大統領になったオバマさん、大丈夫だろうか？就任演説に具体性がなかったことが気になる。

My Private Views at the Beginning of the New Year

     The last big news of 2008 would be the fierce fight in the Gaza Strip. I'll show you my personal perspective about Japan as the first writing of the year 2009.
     The U.S. and USSR (or Russia) that have never waged all-out war against each other because of both having nuclear weapons. If both countries opened hostilities without nuclear weapons, could Russia wage a fearlessly as courageous battle as Japan had done against the U.S.
     The U.S. vs. Russia, China vs. the U.S. and China vs. Russia: They have never gotten into an all-out fight, though small regional fights might happen.
     It has been Japan only that engaged in total warfare face to face with these countries and chilled the heart of them, which had been acknowledged as superpowers since before Meiji Restoration (1868).
     Japan, that has developed to the second highest GDP country, following the U.S. in only half a century after being burned to the ground in the Greater East Asian War.
     Japan, that has potential to be able to build up nuclear weapons or aircraft carrier fleets in a short period of time once it is determined to do so.
     The country that the U.S., Russia and China fear in a true sense. Might it be Japan?

(Vocabulary)
all-out     (攻撃･キャンペーンなどが）総力を挙げての、全面的な
hostilities      (複数扱い/フォーマル)　戦闘　交戦
wage a fearlessly courageous battle  　勇猛果敢に戦いを仕掛ける
engage in warfare (with)     （～と）戦争する
chill the heart of     心胆を寒からしめる
be burned [burnt] to the ground      焦土と化す
scorch     焦土化する
in a true sense      真に

　核兵器があったために総力戦にまでは至らなかったアメリカとソ連だが、仮に核兵器抜きで戦ったとしたら、ソ連はアメリカに対して、日本ほどの敢闘を果たすことなど可能だっただろうか。アメリカ⇔ソ連、中国⇔アメリカ、中国⇔ソ連(ロシア)。小競り合い程度の戦闘はともかくとして、互いに総力戦を戦ったことなど１度としてない。明治維新以前から、世界の超大国と認識されていたこの３国と、バカ正直故に真正面からぶつかって、しかもその心胆を寒からしめたのは日本だけだ。

　大東亜戦争の敗戦で焦土とされてから僅か半世紀にして、アメリカに次ぐ世界第二位のＧＤＰという水準にまで経済的復興を果たした日本。

　一旦「やろう！」と決意すれば、日ならずして核兵器だろうが空母艦隊だろうが、保有が可能な潜在能力を秘めている現在の日本。

　米露中が真に恐れている国、それは日本なんじゃないだろうか。

My Wife's Business Tour

     My wife has gone to France. She works for a trade school for care workers and accompanied the school tour for a week. She had been to Europe every two years. The countries she visited before were France, Italy, Great Britain, Switzerland and Belgium, which I've never been to. Whenever I told her that I was envious of her, she replied that she had had a rough time with students who didn't know anything about countries outside of Japan. It might be true, but she was sightseeing in the Bastille prison when I called yesterday. I wish I had visited Europe.

See also
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/11/my-wifes-absenc.html

Seeing After Seven Years In The Dome

     I'll introduce one of my friends, Kenta, who lives in Tokyo. I had enjoyed motorcycle riding with him and one more friend in Hokkaido seven years ago. The first picture was taken on Rebun island that is the northernmost island in Japan and noted as a flower island. It was named from many kinds of alpine flowers on the island. When we visited the island, it was in the midst of the peak season and we couldn't find a vacancy, even in a small cheap hotel. Unfortunately it started raining. We looked for places to stay one night hiding from the rain, but ended up putting up our tents close to each other and setting up a tarp between the tents. We stopped regarding the situation as miserable and decided to enjoy the situation. There was nothing around us except the big sound of heavy rain. We ran wild and nobody cared because there was no one else in at least a three kilometer radius in the torrential rain. Actually we had a rough time there, but it has become a good memory now.

     I got an e-mail from him just before the rally. I was surprised and happy to hear from him after quite a while. He seemed to be coming to Sapporo to watch the competition. He checked this blog and knew that I was going to join the volunteer staff members of the rally. We promised to see each other in Sapporo.

     If you want to enjoy the rally to your heart's content, you have to move long distances. He was moving between some points in the mountains and forests in the daytime, while I was setting up the time control station near the Dome and was not allowed to be away from my area. Finally, we couldn't see each other until the night of the second day. However, he was a spectator and I was on the side of the organizer. The second picture was sent from him, saying "I'm in the seat from where I can take it." I guessed his position in the stadium seeing the picture from 200 meters away and the opposite side of him, communicating with him by my cell phone. He moved a small flag right and left, while I was wearing a light reflector on my jacket. That was how we found each other from 200 meters' distance and talked via cell phones. It was extremely strange seeing him again. I couldn't see him face to face, but it's ok. It was also a good memory and will be one of the topics when we see each other next time.

(Vocabulary)
northernmost island  最北の島
alpine flower   高山植物　高山の
in the midst of sth  ～のまっただ中で
hide from the rain // seek shelter from rain  雨宿りする
tarp/tarpaulin   防水シート
in at least a three kilometer radius  少なくとも半径３キロのなかには
move a flag up and down   旗を上下に振る
that's how   そのようにして

(KW: 礼文島　ラリージャパン　バイク　ツーリング)

The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956 （収容所群島 Архипелаг ГУЛАГ）

     I've just read the second book of the six-volume, Japanese translation of The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956. These books were written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn about the Soviet forced labor and concentration camp system.
     When the books were published, it caused a worldwide sensation. I was a high school student and was preparing for the entrance exam for the medical school at that time. I wanted to read it, but I didn't have a sense of composure. The news of the death of the author came to me a few months ago, and made me feel like reading it.
     This six-volume Japanese translation is a massive narrative based on lots of testimonies of witnesses and primary research material, along with the author's own experiences as a prisoner in a Gulag labor camp. Though I've read only two volumes out of six, I wondered how these facts are written in history textbooks for Russian kids. Are they given the correct knowledge about their own history? I watched a TV program this year, in which a Russian high school teacher was exploring in the wilderness for a sign of the concentration camps that had illegally accommodated a lot of Japanese after the Great East Asian War. He took his students to the spot and showed items of the camps. The students looked astonished to know the reality. I imagine that Moscow keeps the real modern history low-key so as not to upset the young people.

(Vocabulary)
narrative   物語
research material  研究資料
sense of composure    気持ちの余裕

 

(KW: ソルジェニーツィン　ロシア　ソ連　ソビエト　強制収容所　シベリア抑留)

Mirror for Americans: Japan

     I have just read a Japanese translation of an American book entitled "Mirror for Americans: Japan". It was originally written in 1948 by Helen Mears, who was an expert on oriental history and cultures in the prewar era, and came to Japan in the aftermath of the Great East Asian War to help the Allied occupation forces formulate new labor laws.
     The main theme of the book was why Japan got into the reckless war. The book says, Japan could not avoid the war in terms of its relations with the Western powers. The powers used deceptive policies against Japan. With a calm but very objective reasoning, the author reveals that what Japan did was the same as what the powers had already done. She continues, Japan was the best student of modernization and Westernization, following what the powers showed decades before. That is, the student was Japan and the powers were the teacher in this sense. Japan's condemned actions in Asia were just the reflection of the Western powers themselves in a mirror. I guess that the title of the book was thus made.
     I'm going to write about my father-in-law who passed away a few years ago. He had worked in a small southern island as a mechanic on fighter planes during the last war. He sometimes told me stuff about the war, and there were a lot of differences from what I learned in school and from his story. I didn't believe that he was telling a lie, but I didn't think that the history textbook wasn't correct either. Getting back on the right track, the author started the story with her flight between the U.S. and Japan. It took several days to fly between both countries at that time. She had to repeat stopovers on the islands in the Pacific Ocean, and consequently she saw native people's daily life. What she wrote about the natives was just the same as my father-in-law used to talk to me. I realized that the history textbook was not correct. http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/01/my-father-gone.html
     Understandably, General Douglas MacArthur, the omnipotent Supreme Commander in the occupied Japan, prohibited publishing this book in Japan. It was as late as 1995 that the book was translated into Japanese and published in Japan. The original version is said to have been criticized by American people and she was labeled as a defender of a vicious Japan.
     She didn't mean to defend Japan. She questioned the justification of the Western powers which insisted that only Japan should be condemned in the modern Far Eastern history and also doubted the way of identifying Japanese people as traditionally belligerent, and the way of thinking that America, therefore, should educate them. Her research and analysis was dispassionate and fully acceptable to me. 
     International relations are mostly ruled by the logic of the strong nations, and it was clearly demonstrated in the Far East in the first half of the last century, I suppose. Japanese education is still also controlled by the U.S. view of history. There are so many things we have to learn from Ms. Mears' book.
     Is it still too early to think about the causes and effects of the war serenely, beyond a dichotomy between winners and losers?

(Vocabulary)
Understandably  当然ながら　無理もないことだが
departure   逸脱、離脱、背反、ずれ
serenely   穏やかに　落ち着いた様子で
dichotomy  二分 二分裂 意見の相違
belligerent　好戦的な

"Mirror for Americans: Japan" (邦題：アメリカの鏡・日本）を読み終えた。１９４８年に東洋の研究者であるヘレン・ミアーズによって書かれたものだ。彼女は大東亜戦争直後、法律の策定に関わるために来日している。

中心テーマは「なぜ日本は向こう見ずな戦争を始めたのか？」である。彼女は言う、日本は戦争を避けたくても避けられなかったのだと。日本のしたことは欧米列強がしてきたことを忠実に真似ただけであり、欧米列強が先生なら日本は優秀な学生であった。日本は鏡に映った欧米列強の姿なのだと主張する。

亡くなった義父（戦時中、南方の島で戦闘機のメンテナンスをしていた)とのやりとりで歴史教科書とはまったく異なることがたびたびあった。義父が嘘つきだとは思わなかったが、教科書が間違っているとも思わなかった。話を元に戻そう。この本は著者が日本へ来る飛行機の中での独白から始まる。当時は途中で何度も降りて給油を繰り返さなければならなかった。その島々で彼女は現地の人々の行動を観察し、話をするのである。その内容は果たして義父から聞いたことと同じであった。つまり、教科書が嘘を言っていたのだ。

無理もないことだが、この本はGHQの最高責任者マッカーサーにより発禁とされた。そして日本語に訳され、日本人が読めるようになったのはなんと５０年後の１９９５年なのである。著者は当時、邪悪な日本の擁護者として批判されている。

彼女には日本を擁護するという気持ちはなく、ただ純粋に事実を述べているだけである。日本だけが悪いのか、日本人は元々好戦的で、それゆえアメリカが教育しなければならない、というのは正しいのか。彼女の研究、分析は驚くほどクールになされている。

国際関係は主として強国によって支配されている。前世紀の前半に極東で見たとおりである。日本の教育は未だにアメリカ史観に支配されている。この本から学ばなければならないことはかなり多い。

勝者と敗者という立場を越えて戦争の原因とその結果を穏やかに考えるにはまだ時期尚早であろうか。

(KW: アメリカの鏡：日本　大東亜戦争　東京裁判　マッカーサー)

Joyful and Sad Gifts

     At first, look at the picture. These are all gifts for me from my teacher. I got two more pairs of skis, besides the gear in the picture, and a pair of skis are with the binding of BURT. All of the gear is wonderful. These boots are more expensive than mine, and they fit me just fine. It is the joyful side of the gifts, but the sad side is that he decided to give up skiing due to an eye problem. I wrote about him before:
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/04/mercedes-benz.html
     Everyone will be getting old, year by year, no matter how much they want to avoid it. I know it, but I feel sad.

　最初に、写真を見てください。これらは全て僕の先生から頂いたものです。この写真に写っている以外にもスキーを２本もらっています。ひとつにはバートのビンディングがセットされています。どれもこれも素晴らしいものばかりです。ブーツも高価なものばかりで僕の足にぴったりとフィットします。ここまでが嬉しい話です。悲しいのはこの先生がスキーをやめてしまったこと。目が悪くなったためで以前にもブログに書いたことがあります。その時の記事はこのＵＲＬです。　
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/04/mercedes-benz.html
誰もが皆歳を取ります。いくら避けようとしても仕方のないことです。そんなことぐらいわかってはいるのですが、やはり辛いです。

I Accomplished!

     When I started writing this blog in Nov. 2005, I set a goal that I would write 100,000 words within 3 years and stick with it. It was not easy, but I finally accomplished my goal this month four months earlier than I expected.
     I wanted not only to improve my English skills but for people all over the world to see my albums and travel notes. If I could become friends with many people on the globe and visit them after my retirement it would be my great pleasure.
     Don't hesitate to send an e-mail to me!

(Vocabulary)
stick with one's goal   目標をあきらめない

　このブログを書き始めたのが２００５年１１月。その時、３年間で１０万語の文章を書こうと心に決めた。そして絶対に諦めないと決めた。それは決してたやすいことではなかったが、今月、予定よりも４ヶ月も早く達成できた。今、とても満足している。

　英語の修練だけではなく、世界中の人に自身のアルバムや旅行記を読んでもらい、それらの人々と友達になり、リタイア後に実際に訪問できたらとても楽しいことだろうと思う。

　どうか、皆さん、おっくうがらずに僕にメールを下さい。

 

August Rush

     I watched the movie "August Rush" on the flight to Japan in March. Robin Williams starred in the movie and he is one of my favorite actors. He is always the protagonist, but he wasn't in this movie.
    Anyway, I have wanted to catch it again. I found the ad poster on the street today. This movie had already been released in my city in June, but I didn't notice it because of an inappropriate translation. "August Rush" is the name of the hero, so the title in Japanese should be オーガスト・ラッシュ (August Rush) without changing it. For your information, the Japanese title is "A miraculous symphony."

(Vocabulary)
for your information  ちなみに

　オーガスト・ラッシュという映画を３月、帰国便の機内で見た。ロビン・ウイリアムス主演の映画で、彼は好きな俳優の一人でもある。彼は常にいい役だが、この映画ではそうではなかった。

　ま、とにかくまたみたいとずっと思っていたのだが、今日、歩いていてたまたまポスターを見つけた。なんと、６月に既に封切りになっていたのにタイトルの翻訳がうまくなくて気づかずにいた。オーガスト・ラッシュというのは主人公の名前なのだから、日本語でもそのままタイトルにすれば良いのにと思ったがどうだろう。ちなみに、日本語のタイトルは「奇跡のシンフォニー」だった。

Bucket List

     I often feel that I'm lucky to have learned English. While watching American movies, I really get the feeling. I caught the movie "Bucket List" starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. I think both are great, talented and are the people who were born to become actors. By the way, the original title is translated into Japanese with a different title. The Japanese title is 「最高の人生の見つけ方」. If retranslated into English the title would be "How to find the best way of life". Japanese and English are completely different languages and such a translation of the title might be inevitable.
     When Morgan wrote "Bucket List" on the memo pad, "棺桶リスト" which means "coffin list" in English, appeared on the Japanese subtitles. I wondered why bucket had the meaning of coffin or the translater might have made an association of ideas from bucket to basket and next casket. As soon as Jack found the note, he shouted "kick the bucket" blah, blah, blah. I dare to expound my opinion here to get the criticism of native speakers.
     There's a phrase "kick the bucket" that means "die". To tell the truth, I had an image about "kick the bucket" in which a man trips over a bucket and fall down and finally hits his head and dies. I investigated the real meaning of this phrase in the big etymological dictionary and found the origin of the phrase. The bucket indicates the stepstool of the hanging platform. If you kick this stepstool, you would be hung up from the tree or something. If so, "kick the bucket" would mean only suicide, but this phrase looks like it's used in any type of death, like death from illnesses, accidents, or even murders. It's funny, but coming back to the right track, let's think about the kicking. Just after kicking the bucket, the man will die. That is to say, kicking the bucket is the last intentional action in his life. This is my conclusion. Can I express things that we want to do at the end of our life as the buckets? 

(Comments from my teacher in Canada)
"To kick the bucket" does indeed mean to die in a general sense, but it comes from rhyming cockney slang.

(Vocabulary)
be translated into Japanese with a different title
原題とは異なるタイトルで日本語に翻訳される
make an association of ideas　連想する
trip over a log　丸太に蹴つまずく
etymologic(al) dictionary 　語源辞典
ladder // platform // step ladder // stepstool　踏み台

　英語を勉強していて良かったと思う瞬間がある。アメリカ映画を見るときがそうだ。
　先日、「Bucket List」というアメリカ映画を見た。邦題は「最高の人生の見つけ方」だ。これを更に英語に訳すと、「How to find the best life」とでもなるだろうか。映画のセリフは原題とは異なるタイトルで日本語に翻訳される。これは仕方のないことであろうが、残念なことだ。

　Morgan Freeman がメモ用紙にBucket Listと書いたとき、字幕では「棺桶リスト」と出た。bucket にそんな意味があったのか？bucket からbasket、そしてcasketというような連想で間違えたのではないかと。その直後にJack Nicholsonがbucketの意味を言っているのに翻訳者はその語感を訳出できていない。ネイティブの批判に晒すために敢えて英語で持論を述べてみる。

　"kick the bucket"という慣用句がある。バケツを蹴飛ばすということだが、これが死ぬことを意味する。数年前まで長い間、バケツにつまずいて転んで頭でも打って死ぬと言うことかと思っていた。この言葉がジャックの口から発せられたので改めて語源を確認した。バケツは首つりの踏み台であり、これを蹴飛ばすことで死ぬことになる。では自殺することを意味するのかというとそうでもなく、病死でも事故死でも使えるのが不思議だが。で、改めて語源を考えてみると、バケツを蹴ることはその直後に死ぬことを考えると、死ぬ直前に意志を持って行う最後の行為ではないか。つまりbucket listとは死ぬ直前にする最後の行為ではないのか。そして映画ではそのリストについて描かれている。きれいな理論ではないだろうか？

Cry Freedom

     I'm writing my impression of the movie "Cry Freedom" that I caught tonight. This movie dealt with the apartheid policy that had been implemented in South Africa. In this cruel policy for black people, a journalist who was on the side of the government and a young black man who was on the side of the blacks got to know each other and promoted good feelings.
     After the young black man's suspicious death, his friend determined to escape from the country and appeal to public opinion. He was in strict custody, so his escape was very difficult and was the same as putting his life on the line. His escape was not smooth, but finally successful.
     I'd like to give him a big hand and got angry against the whites. The European powers have ruled the countries of colored races and have been responsible for unspeakable calamities to the people since the 15th century.
     The first war in which colored people defeated white people was the Japanese-Russo War that started in 1904. This victory seemed to inspire colored people all over the world. This is true. Do you know the first nation that appealed for the elimination of racial discrimination at an international conference? It was JAPAN at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, just after the First World War. The superpowers at that time rejected it though. It's hardly possible that nations with  plantations and slaves would have agreed with Japan's proposition.

(Vocabulary)
catch
(時間に間に合って)(映画・番組など）を見られる,（人）と連絡がつく, 話せる
I only caught the last 20 minutes of the movie.　その映画は最後の20分しか見られなかった．
[他](話)（コンサート・展覧会・映画など）を見に行く
catch a movie(米)　 映画を見に行く
implement〈計画・政策・法律など〉 を実行する, 実施する, 履行する
promote good feelings between  ～間の友情を深める
suspicious death  不審死
on the line  (仕事・名声などが) 危険にさらされて
put yourself on the line (for sb)  （＜人＞のために）身を危険にさらす
Let's give him a hand  拍手を送ろう
colored person // colored races  有色人種
unspeakable 言葉にならないほどひどい, 言語道断の
unspeakable crimes 筆舌に尽くしがたい残忍な犯行
calamity [C,U] 災難, 惨事 [同意] disaster
It's hardly possible that  ＜that以下＞のはずがない。
(KW: 遠い夜明け　アパルトヘイト　南アフリカ)

Get The Door

     Every time I see a comic conversation between comedians, I feel the difficulty of acquiring a good knowledge of English. I'm writing about a TV show that I saw recently.
     A middle aged couple were talking about their kids in the show. There was a loud knock at the door at that time and the wife went out of the picture. I thought that maybe someone had come back home and the wife went to the door to open it. The scene of her opening the door didn't appear on the screen, but I imagined it like that. A few seconds later she came back to her husband with the door and the laughter of the studio audience. I understood this conversation like this; the door had something wrong with it and didn't work well and she couldn't open it. She finally must have taken the door out of the wall to let the kid in.
     Today, I figured out the real punch line of this story. I happened to find the idiom "get the door" in my dictionary. The "get" of this phrase means "to open" but the "get" was used as "to bring" in the show. When I saw the show, I didn't realize the punch line because I didn't know the idiom "get the door."
     I'm sorry not to be able to feel the funny thing directly. I have to think about the punch line theoretically now. I wish I could naturally enjoy the comic conversation some day.

(Vocabulary)
comic conversation  漫才
get the door
〔来客を迎えるため〕玄関に出る / 〔人が通れるように〕ドアを押さえる
Get the door!
玄関に出て！◆お客さんがきたときに誰かに出迎えに行ってもらいたいときに使う。このgetはpay attention toの意味。ドアが開いているときに "Get the door!" といえば、「ドアを閉めて！」の意味になる。

The Truth of Nanjing

     I watched a film about what is called the Nanjing Massacre today, though I could only catch the first one hour of it due to an emergency case. This film was the first installment of a trilogy.
     What is known as the Nanjing Massacre has been investigated comprehensively and thoroughly for these past 20 years. Consequently it was concluded that the Nanjing Massacre was made up by the Chinese Communist Party and there are numerous supporting pieces of evidence. Open letters have been sent to Chinese ambassadors, Wen Jiabao (温家宝) and Hu Jintao (胡錦涛) again and again, but they didn't give any answer. I'll show you one of the letters in the following URL: http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/04/open-letter-to-.html What do you think after reading this open letter?
     Japan used to be an evil country and was corrected by the U.S. This is what I was taught by the Government. War criminals were punished and the Japanese people were freed by the U.S. Is that correct? Why has Japan apologized to China and Korea so many times? Many Japanese who can get information on the internet started wondering what the real history was like. I've learned about the Tokyo Trial for myself. I'd like to write about the Tokyo Trial and how we were brainwashed by D. McArthur from then on.

  Do you know who was the first person to kill more than 100,000 citizens in one night since recorded history?

(Vocabulary)
catch [他] (時間に間に合って) (映画・番組など)を見られる, (人)と連絡がつく, 話せる
I only caught the last 20 minutes of the movie. その映画は最後の20分しか見られなかった。
installment (雑誌・テレビなどの連載物の) 1回分, 一話, 一部 =episode
trilogy  (劇・本・映画などの) 三部作

(KW: 南京事件 南京大虐殺)

This Week's TIME Magazine

     The picture shows the cover of this week's TIME magazine. It tells us how miserable Burma's situation is.
     The Japanese media call Burma Myanmar, in spite of the fact that refugees from Burma call themselves Burmese not Myanmese. The Japanese media are disgraceful.
     Time magazine has consistently used Burma not Myanmar since the coup d'etat in 1989. The writer in the magazine puts it like this, "Burma, also known as Myanmar." Such an attitude that acts according to their principles is honorable. It might be one of the reasons why I read this magazine.

(Vocabulary)
act according to one's principles    筋を通す

(和訳)
写真は今週号のタイム誌である。ビルマの現状が如何に無残なものであるか物語っている。日本のメディアはビルマをミャンマーと呼ぶ。亡命ビルマ人が自らをミャンマー人ではなくビルマ人と呼ぶにもかかわらず、である。日本のメディアは本当に恥ずかしい。タイム誌は１９８９年のクーデター以来一貫してビルマと書いている。この記事のライターもミャンマーととしても知られるビルマという言い方をしている。筋を通すこのような態度は素晴らしい。僕がタイム誌を講読する理由の一つである。

Arrival in Vancouver

     I arrived at Vancouver International Airport. How many times have I been to Canada? I remembered the first time I went there. I have a few mentors in my life. One of them loved skiing and Whistler & Blackcomb Mountains. He took me to Vancouver in the 1980's. It was my first time to visit this country. It was one of the luckiest things in my life to encounter him. I've stayed motivatied to learn Engish and other languages since then. Communication with people who have different cultures is important and fun for me.

Naritasan-Shin'shohji Temple

     I saw my wrist watch pointing to 11 o'clock. I had to start for Narita International Airport immediately, but I was a stranger there. I was going to ask someone how to go to Narita and I headed for Ueno station.
     I was lucky to happen to find a sign saying "60 minutes to Narita!" at the entrance of Ueno Park and could get on the right train bound for Narita International Airport.
     I knew that Naritasan-Shin'shohji Temple was on the way after seeing the poster in the train. On every February 3rd, the bean-scattering ceremony celebrating the coming of spring is performed at this temple. It is called "Setsubun" and is an annual traditional event. Famous sumo wrestlers join the ceremony and throw beans there. I've often watched the scene on TV but I've not visited that temple before. It took not such a long time to decide to get off on the way. See also http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/11/travel-for-me-c.html
     The temple was very big as I thought. The street to the temple was crowded. I prayed for a happy tour for all the people there.
     Today's lunch was at a small coffee shop, which also had a bakery, on the platform of Narita station. It was fun for me to have lunch and look around at a place that I was visiting for the first time.

(Vocabulary)
bean-scattering ceremony　豆まき

 （ＫＷ：　節分　成田山新勝寺）

The River Wild

     Whitewater rafting is one of my hobbies. I set up a few pictures in the left column of this blog. My colleagues and I enjoyed rafting on the Rogue river in Oregon more than ten years ago.
     By the way, the other day I found an interesting DVD movie titled "The River Wild" in the library of my English conversation school and it was associated with whitewater rafting. http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/02/this-years-big-.html  While watching it, a scene rang a bell. I checked the internet movie database (IMDb) and found Grants Pass, Oregon, USA in the list of locations. Grants Pass was a starting point of our rafting on the Rogue river. The memory of long ago had suddenly come up for me.

(Vocabulary)
be associated 関係している, つながっている
associated with sth ＜…＞と関係している
the problems associated with cancer treatment
がんの治療と関連した問題
ring a bell (with sb)(インフォーマル)
(名前などが)（＜人＞にとって）聞き覚えがあるように思える, 思い当たる節がある

(KW: オレゴン州 ログリバー ラフティング)