May 3rd
Takoyaki Monsters
Golden week is a national holiday in Japan. It's a time for families to relax after all the upheaval of getting new jobs, relocating, all that kind of jazz.
I didn't have any particular stress to get over this year, but I was still glad to spend some time with the kids. Aya and I spent some quality time enjoying the delights of takoyaki. Taokyaki can be roughly translated as Octopus Balls. Now I know you'd probably believe that the Japanese have a delicacy of pickled octopus bollocks (and quite possibly they have) but on this occassion the balls are made from encasing bits of Octopus in batter and then grilling them on a hot plate. Bit like fishy pancakes really.
We also enjoyed some Kibi Dango - a local speciality of fruit flavoured rice flour cakes. Very tasty, but have a habit of choking small children and the aged. So beware. If you want to look at the photos, then click on the picture of the tacoyaki moonster...
May 7th
Photos of Aya Again
No real story here, just spent a bit of Sunday morning with Aya, her new, blue, butterfly dress and took a couple of shots.
Aya is convinced she has royal blood despite the rather humdrum origin of her parents. I imagine she's wondering what prince will be brave enough to take this hand and ask her for a dance.
As every princess knows, a leopard at your left shoulder is the surest way to deter all but the purest of heart.
If you too feel as though you have a heart pure enough to gaze upon a princess then click on the picture and you can see her laugh and check out the princesses mouth and see if you can spot any princess fillings.
May 17th
Thought-provoking Thoughtlessness
Today I went with our students to a support facility for abused children in Okayama. After a general tour of the facilities the head of the facility spoke to us about his work and the chidlren his staff care for.He was an excellent speaker, direct and engaging and he really made me think about things.
He said that children who have not been shown love have no boundaries when it comes to others; such is their desperation they will go to anybody who shows interest in them. As he was speaking, I had this image of an toddler with an open blank expression walking aimlessly, arms outstretched: a pale, ghostly soul searching for human warmth and love.
It made me realise the primacy of love and the fagility of those who have not received it. It made me wonder how many adults are walking around with that ghostly child inside them.
At the centre of love there must be trust. If you grow up and you cannot trust those who love you not to abuse you, then it makes maintaining a non-abusive relationship very difficult. It makes finding love even harder because it can be so easily mistaken and you are all the more desperate to discover it.
It is one of those elementry things that we very rarely question or think about if we are loved. Just because people do return such suffering with a bright spirit, doesn't mean we shouldn't realise that it is a miracle of sorts - like a spring suddenly erupting from the desert, an oasis conjured barren desolation.
Another story he mentioned has been on the news recently: in the middle of a hot spell, a couple in Mie went to play pachinko (form of gambling resembling pinball and slots) for 12 hours and left their 6-month old child in the back of the car sleeping in the baby-seat. When they came back to the car a few hours later the child was seriously weakened. They went to a hospital and the baby was pronounced dead.
This reminded me of Gaita's comment on Helen Arendt's 'The Banality of Evil', how thoughtlessness as much as malice can be a source of evil. Initially such a story makes you really angry, well, to be honest it does everytime you think about it, but when you try and figure out what those parents were thinking the over-riding feeling is of sadness and pity. How could two people be so self-obessed and thoughtless to let their own flesh and blood die like this? What kind of impoverished view of their child brought about this kind of event?
May 21st
Incredibles Video
Had to teach my students about ordinal numbers this week and decided to make a video using figurines from the animated film 'The Incredibles.' Those of you who know me well, know my otaku (geeky animation lover) tendencies. I suppose this is documentable proof of them!
The video is based on an old Japanese game called kami-sumo. In this game you put 2 sumo figurines on a piece of paper and shake the paper to see which one falls over first, second etc.
I made the video using Apple's Final Cut Express and the background music using Soundtrack that comes bundled with Final Cut Express. Soundtrack is an awesome bit of software where you can mix samples to make tracks. I used an amazing piece of free software called Audacity to change the pitch of my voice, offset it with the original and make it sound creepy!
May 24th
Educators
Just been watching the podcasts on the Guardian education website of famous people taking classes in secondary schools. What an amusing eye-opener of a TV program that is. The teachers supported and advised their famous proteges quite brilliantly. It's essential to be reminded of good practice and the teachers simple, considered advice was heeded by me, even if the more famous proteges weren't listening.
I'm sure the classes picked were of a reasonably high standard, but I have to admit I felt a great deal of pride that young British students were so passionate about the world and were up for the battle. They were often more eloquent and engaging than the people who came to teach them.
After the lesson the celebrties were so humble and attentive to the teachers, unlike their nonchalant attitude before the lesson got started. And they looked bloody exhausted!
Big up to all you teachers in the UK. Keep up the good work.