2013年1月25日金曜日

2013年1月25日金曜日 -

Martin - Madame Tussauds Sydney

During my vacation last November I went back to my hometown of Sydney. While I was there I got to rub shoulders with some very famous people. I saw US President Obama, Queen Elizabeth, Johnny Depp, Jackie Chan and Lady Gaga among a host of others. Do you think that I'm pulling your leg? Well... I guess I am... kind of.
                              Martin with the lovable Audrey Hepburn                                     

You see, I went to one of Sydney's latest and most fascinating attractions, Madame Tussauds wax figure museum. Here you can get up close and personal with many famous and some infamous people from the past and present depicted in wax! The wax figures are so lifelike and their resemblance with the real person is uncanny. There are many historical and political identities as well as sports heroes and heroines. In addition there are a lot of celebrities from TV, movies and music. At times it even felt a little eerie walking around the museum as one might even expect the figures to speak or move. 
                                   Martin with the extraordinary Jackie Chan                                     
A feature of the museum is being able to see behind the scenes and discover how the wax figures are made, right down to how hairs are put into the head! I recommend a visit to Madame Tussauds if you are going to Sydney as it also features a lot of famous Australian characters who you may or may not know of. Naturally you won't be able to get any autographs at Madame Tussauds but you will be able to take a lot of photos!

Martin


   Martin with everyones favorite... Johnny Depp!                                                                    

Hometown = ふるさと・故郷
to rub shoulders = 交流する場を持つ・有名人と付き合う
pulling your leg = からかう・かつぐ
fascinating attractions = 興味深い名所
wax figure　= ろう人形
get up close and personal = 近づく・親しくなる
infamous = 悪名高い
depicted = 描かれる
lifelike = 生きているような・実物そっくりな
resemblance = 類似性
uncanny = 不可思議な・（超自然なほど）正確な
identities = 人々
celebrities = 有名人
eerie = 不気味な
behind the scenes = 裏側の・舞台裏の
autographs = サイン

2013年1月18日金曜日

2013年1月18日金曜日 -

Thomas - Open Mic Night Osaka

Thomas rocking the night in downtown Osaka
Twice a month, I host open-mics in some bars in central Osaka. Open-mic means an `open microphone` so anyone can get up on stage and show off their talents. When lots of people show up, my job is to coordinate the different musicians and talents that come to perform. When only a few people come my job is to entertain the customers by playing guitar and singing.

While the open-mics do sometimes get a wide variety of talents, on the whole, most people that perform are musicians or singers. It’s great to watch Japanese and foreigners performing each other’s music together. It’s a real feeling of comradery.


My tastes in music are pretty broad. I like Blues, Rock, Heavy Metal, Jazz, Funk, Reggae, and even Classical. It all depends on what kind of mood I’m in to decide what I want to play. I also enjoy learning Japanese tunes. I’ve learned to play “Country Roads” in Japanese and enjoy listening to Eigo Kawashima. Learning songs is a great way of learning Japanese because you don’t get bored!

Open-mics are also something that I like to look for in other countries when I travel. Last time I went to Italy I found an excellent open-mic in an Irish pub in Rome. The Italian host was welcoming and easygoing as well as a great musician! It’s so easy to make friends when you’re making music together. In the future, I’d love to travel to as many countries as I can making music with people from all over the world!



If you’re in Osaka, feel free to stop by and play a few tunes or just come down for a listen.
Happy jamming!


show off =　見せつける
show up =　現れる・来る
coordinate =　調整する
on the whole =　全体的に
comradery =　仲間意識・友情
tastes = 好み
broad =　幅広い
depends on = ～による
tunes (Songs) =　曲
welcoming =　歓迎する
easygoing =　おおらかな・気楽な
stop by = 立ち寄る
come down (visit) = 訪問する
jamming =　即興演奏

2013年1月11日金曜日

2013年1月11日金曜日 -

Kate - Takarazuka Stage Studio


My friend Lilith and I are big fans of the Takarazuka Revue. My friend is currently studying abroad at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, so for her birthday we made a reservation at the Takarazuka Stage Studio to get our make up done and wear fun costumes. The stage studio is located at the Grand Theatre in Takarazuka.

Kate in full production make up 
At Stage Studio there are a variety costumes to choose from. Some of the costumes are even from famous productions like “Rose of Versailles”. It is a little pricey to get your make up done at the theater but as it was a special birthday present we thought we would treat ourselves. After much thought we decided to dress up as Elizabeth and Toto from the musical “Elizabeth”, one of our favorite shows.

Kate on right dressed as Toto


Watching them put on the make up was so funny; the female make up was so pink that my friend Lilith resembled the Nova Bunny! The costumes were quite heavy but they were beautiful and extremely photogenic. The women who work at the Stage Studio are really kind and concerned with getting you the best picture to show off your dramatic new look. They want you to get your moneys worth and have an unforgettable experience. All in all, it was a great experience and a must do for any Takarazuka fans. I know that we will be going back!

big fans of ~ ＝~の大ファン
currently ＝現在
studying abroad ＝留学中
located ＝～に位置している
variety ＝様々な
productions ＝上演作品
pricey ＝高価な
as ＝～なので
treat ourselves ＝自分たちのために奮発する
dress up ＝ドレスアップする
resembled ＝似ていた
photogenic ＝カメラ写りがいい
concerned ＝気を配る
show off ＝見せびらかす
dramatic ＝ドラマチックな
get your moneys worth ＝かけたお金の元を取る
unforgettable ＝忘れられない
all in all ＝概していえば
must do ＝絶対しないといけないこと

2013年1月4日金曜日

2013年1月4日金曜日 -

Paul - Back to Japan!

I have recently returned to Japan after teaching English in South Korea for five years. While I was in Korea I rediscovered my love for darts. I played darts a lot when I was a teenager in England. I played in several leagues and even represented my home county of Yorkshire.
After playing in several competitions in Korea with some success, my friends and I decided to come to Japan to play in the Phoenix Fly Darts Tournament. It was a soft-tip darts tournament using darts machines rather than conventional steel-tip darts. The tournament was held in Chiba.
The tournament was played over two days and my friend and I competed in two doubles tournaments, one held on the Saturday and one held on the Sunday. Each tournament involved group stages with the top two teams progressing to the knockout stages. Unfortunately, we narrowly missed out on qualifying on both days. One of the teams that beat us went on to win the tournament. I did have some success in an event game where I managed to win a set of darts but that didn't really make up for losing in the main events.
Despite losing out on both days we had a great time in Chiba. The trip reminded me how much I missed Japan. Now that I have returned to Japan I hope to compete in more tournaments, hopefully with more success than I had at the Phoenix Fly Tournament!
 
Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!
 
Paul
 
 
rediscovered =再発見した
several =いくつかの
represented =代表として出場した
county =州
conventional =通常の
competed =戦った
doubles =ダブルスの
progressing =進出する
knockout stages =決勝トーナメント
narrowly =辛くも
qualifying =予選通過
make up for =埋め合わせをする
despite =～にもかかわらず
now that ＝今や～したのだから
 

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