I managed to finally see the Japanese movie Nobody Knows, about the four children who were abondoned in an Tokyo appartment. Today I realised how true and real the story is and I refer this to a popular childrenfs song back in the late 70s early 1980s (The reason I can recall this song is because I remember learning in in school at about that time, now most children learn popular cartoon theme songs on TV) ? Shabon dama by Ujyou Noguchi. In this song previously posted in Japanese here, Noguchi tells about how farming life was long ago in Japan. Shabon dama are soap bubbles in Japanese and these soap bubbles are analogous to the short but fragile life of children. Long ago poor farmers could not afford to raise more than one child so they would prefer the son because he could help out on the farm when he is older, the other usually the girl they would kill or abandon somewhere.
In Nobody Knows it seems that the young mother is some kind of prostitute such that each of her four children were from different men. The movie is a powerful representation of modern day Japan where a young single mother with little responsibility for her childrensf welfare abandons her children and takes off. The dedication and courage the children have in refusing to seek help because they felt that they would not be allowed to stay together and their ability to take responsiblity to care for each other.
Many people may not be able to believe that is could happen but indeed I have read and heard about in the Japanese media. Usually single parents or parents of handicapped children who either out of irresponsibiliy or not being able to put up with children abandon their children.

Comment! (1) | Recommend! | Categories: Japanese movies [t]

[Le français suivi]
I recieved the new University of Alberta Faculty of Arts publication Work of Arts. At least this was the first edition that I recieved. One article that caught my attention was an article about a web-based grammar correction program for French called Le Patron. Reading the article quickly I noticed a familiar name, Professor of Applied Linguistics Terry Nadasdi. He was one of my former professors. I took a look at the site and typed a few sentences in French and sure enough it highlighted all the errors and offered suggestions. Le Patron is not a French language translation service or dictionary but a real tool for French language learners of all ages to help in recognizing common French language grammatical errors. Please see Le Patron and try it for yourself here: http://www.lepatron.caLePatron.ca

Grâce au site-web Le Patron, il est possible dfécrire les posts français. Jfécris près que toujours en japonais ou anglais. Jfai trouvé ce site-web Le Patron après avoir lu la revue gWork of Artsh une publication de la Faculté des Arts à lfUniversité de lfAlberta. Il est un outil qui permet dfidentifier des fautes dforthographe et de grammaire français que lfon trouve fréquemment dans les travaux écrits des étudiants de français langue seconde. Le Patron donne les explications claires qui mènent son utilisateur à être un participant actif au processus de sa correction et de révision. Allez maintenant au site-web http://www.lepatron.caLePatron.ca !

Comment! (4) | Recommend! | Categories: Le Patron [t], French grammar correction software [t]

Even if you don't understand Japanese watch carefully at the fish in the fish tank after he eats the second piece.

Comment! (7) | Recommend! | Categories: Sushi [t]

I just had to change my photo today. Choudoufu: L“¤•…. This is the stinky tofu that they have all over China and Taiwan. It is so good and really I don't think it smells bad at all. I am still trying to find it in other countries but I am disappointed in the fact that most people don't like it because it stinks. Perhaps it comes from the viewpoint of American fast-food, which in my opinion is not really food and really smells bad.
Choudoufu is made by fermenting the tofu in water and then deep frying it, and eatten with kimchi. Soybeans are supposed to be fermented I think it either has something to do with easier digestion or some health thing. Other good fermented soybean products are Japanese nattou (”[“¤), and Indonesian Tempeh. When most of the soybeans come from USA and Canada its sad to see that Canadians and Americans are not adopting better eatting habits.

Comment! (1) | Recommend! | Categories: Choudoufu [t]