2016年7月29日金曜日

2016年7月29日金曜日 -

Jason: A recipe of Jason's coffee cake

It's summertime again, and some of you might remember reading an earlier blog of mine on how I really loathe this season, but when I was growing up the one positive was going to my grandparents' house during my summer vacation from school. They lived in Connecticut, in the northeast part of the United States. The weather was usually a few degrees cooler than my home state of Virginia, but it could still get plenty hot at times.

One of the activities my grandparents enjoyed was playing cards with their friends and neighbors on Friday or Saturday nights, whenever everyone was free. I would join in, and I didn't realize it at the time, but they would usually lose on purpose, letting the kid win. After the game, my grandmother would make coffee and serve dessert, which was usually a crumb coffee cake. It was store-bought, but she could make her own when needed. I loved eating it, particularly since that specific brand wasn't sold in my area of the United States.

Flash-forward thirty years: I'm  living in Japan and unable to buy that cake, so I asked my mother to dig-up my grandmother's recipe and email it to me. Now I make it a few times a year, but always at least once during the summer to reminisce about those visits to my grandparents' house all those years ago.

Here is Grandma's Crumb Coffee Cake recipe:

4 cups flour
1 ¾ cup sugar
1 stick butter, softened
3 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs
2/3 cup whole milk

Topping
1 stick butter
½ cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 pinch of salt
powdered sugar (to dust the topping)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius)

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Scoop out and set aside 2 cups of the mixture in a smaller bowl for the topping.

In the large bowl, add softened butter, eggs and milk and mix well.

For the topping, melt 1 stick of butter in microwave safe bowl, and add brown sugar, cinnamon, pinch of salt and the two cups of flour set aside earlier, mixing well with a wooden spoon until the crumbs become pea-sized.

Grease and flour a 13 x 9 pan, and spread the batter evenly.

Cover the entire cake with the crumb topping.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Let cool for 20-30 minutes, and dust with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!







2016年7月22日金曜日

2016年7月22日金曜日 -

Aristotle Piso: Neon lighting


There is something to be said for neon lighting; the unmistakable splash of electric color, a bright burning sigil adorning many an entryway along the cramped and crammed labyrinth of side streets and alleyways of Namba. Stark colors shine all the brighter in these wet nights, reflected in windows and puddles, turning any crooked corridor into a hallway of light. 

I will confess that, like many a recently tattooed college coed, I too find the flowing iconography of Japanese script to have an undeniable eloquence of form; a beauty unaffected by my own inability to understand. Though to paraphrase the musing of Irish playwright Oscar Wilde “nothing beautiful is truly meant to be understood”. So who is to say that what is signage to you is not art to me?

No language shines quite so bright in fourteen-inch neon as those unmistakable curves and slashes that comprise the Japanese language. But if there is a word in any language that can describe the atmospheric intensity that neon offers, I don’t know it. For it is more than just signage, some flat exclamation, some bland bill of sale. No, the marriage of script and form, this sheen of Neon Japan. It’s something ascendant.

neon lighting：ネオンの明かり
unmistakable：紛れもない
sigil：西洋魔術で使われる図形、記号、紋章など
adorning：装飾する
entryway：玄関
cramped：窮屈な
crammed：詰め込まれた
alleyways：路地
stark：赤裸々な
reflected：反射された
puddles：水たまり
crooked： 曲がった
corridor：廊下
coed：女子大生
iconography：図像
eloquence：雄弁さ
paraphrase：言い換え
musing：詩才
signage：標識の総称
curves：カーブを描いた線
slashes：斜めに切り込んだ線
comprise：構成する
intensity：強烈さ
sheen：輝き

ascendant：浮かび上がってくる

2016年7月19日火曜日

2016年7月19日火曜日 -

Club 9 Lessons: July Week 4

Club 9
7/23 – Charles
Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can currently be found in smart phones and video games, and soon in self-driving cars. It is predicted that within the next five years the AI market around the world will grow up to $70 billion. In Japan, some companies have already begun developing AI for use in the business world. As AI becomes even more embedded in our daily lives, what consequences, good or bad, do you think will come about? What limits, if any, should we place on AI and its use? In what ways would you like to see AI make your life easier?


7/24 – Kate
A Stress Free Lifestyle
Some people claim that life is getting more hectic and stressful. However, there are things a person can do to minimize the stress in their life. Some experts offer the following tips for leading a stress-free life: eat nutritious foods, get enough sleep, laugh more, spend time with inspiring, uplifting people and be grateful. What do you think about these tips? Do you think it’s possible to incorporate them into a daily routine? Are there other things a person can do to lead a stress-free life? 



7/27 – Lawry
The News
We’re going to talk about what’s been happening in the world and in Japan.

2016年7月15日金曜日

2016年7月15日金曜日 -

Nicolas: Zamami island

Dieses Jahr habe ich mich entschieden im Urlaub nach Okinawa.
Auf dieser Reise hat mich besonders die kleine Insel Zamami, wegen ihrer Schönheit und ruhigen Atmosphäre, beeindruckt. Sie liegt eine Stunde mit der Fähre von der Hauptinsel von Okinawa entfernt, und ist umzingelt von vielen kleinen bewohnten und unbewohnten Inseln.

This year I chose to spend my holiday in Okinawa.
On this trip, the little island Zamami impressed me the most, because of its beauty and quiet atmosphere. Zamami is a one-hour ferry trip from the main island of Okinawa and it's surrounded by many small inhabited and uninhabited islands.

 Zamami ist eine mondförmige Insel mit zwei wunderschönen Sandstränden, vielen Wanderwegen die auf einen Berg führen und ein kleines typisches Okinawa Dorf. Vor Ort gibt es viel zu unternehmen. Unter Anderem kann man unbesorgt im wunderschönen Meer schnorcheln, versuchen Meerschildkröten im Wasser zu entdecken um mit ihnen zu schwimmen oder sogar Wale beobachten.

Zamami is a moon-shaped island with two beautiful beaches, and there are many trekking trails leading to the top of a mountain and a typical Okinawan village. You can do many things there. You can snorkel carefreely in the fish-filled sea, or try to discover some sea turtles to swim with, or even do some whale watching, for example.

Add caption
Es gibt viele Dinge die man machen kann, aber am besten ist es einfach die Ruhe der Insel zu genießen. Es scheint unglaublich das diese paradisische Insel nur zweieinhalb halb Stunden von Osaka entfernt ist. Da lohnt es sich sogar ein Wochenendtrip dorthin.

They are plenty of activities one can do there, but the best is to simply enjoy the quietness of the island. It seems unbelievable that this island paradise is only two and a half hours away from Osaka. It is worth going there, even for a weekend trip.

Urlaub： holiday： 休暇
Schönheit： beauty： 美しさ
umzingelt： surrounded： 囲まれている
bewohnt： inhabited： 人の住んでいる
mondförmige Insel： moon shaped island： 月の形をした島
Sandstränden： beaches： 砂浜
Wanderwegen： trecking-trails： トレッキングトレイル
entdecken： discover： 見つける
Wale beobachten： whale watching： ホエールウォッチング

unglaublich： unbelievable： 信じがたい

2016年7月8日金曜日

2016年7月8日金曜日 -

Tony: Time pieces

I stood staring at my watches. I wanted to select one that wouldn't irritate my wrist while I typed, but as I looked at the collection of thirty-odd watches I've amassed I was drawn into their stories. 

The square face Diesel with a brown leather strap that my wife bought me on 5th Avenue, New York City. She'd been studying there when the September 11th attacks happened and witnessed the panic and destruction first hand. After returning to Japan a few weeks later she hadn't had the heart to return, despite her love for the city, until we went back to share in New York together five years ago. That watch belongs to the new memories we built there. 

My treasured Seiko automatic dive watch: orange dial with luminescent hands and a chunky stainless steel bezel, case, and band. When my father saw it, he complimented it so profusely that I gave him the same watch for Christmas. That was seven years ago and he still wears it every　day.

I could go on, but you get the point. I was stuck traipsing down memory lane when I should have been strapping on a watch and moving along with my morning. I'd resolved to make a choice when I heard my son's voice beside me. He's four. 

“What are you doing papa?” 
“Choosing a watch.” 
“Let me see,” he said. I looked down and his arms were stretched wide, so I scooped him up and together we peered into my watch drawer. 
“Why so many watches?” he asked. 
“Good question, son. I like them. I think they're interesting.” 
“Me too!” he smiled. I smiled too. He had the infectious enthusiasm that's the hallmark of a happy child. An all-encompassing interest that eclipses everything else at that moment. 
“Do you want to buy a watch?” I asked.
He turned around in my arms and looked directly at me.
“Yes!  Please!” 
“Let's do that tonight.” 
“Yahoo!” and, with a quick hug, he jumped down and ran to tell his mom. I smiled. Time to make a new memory.

amassed： 集めている
luminescent： 蛍光の
chunky： ぶあつい
profusely： やたらと
traipsing： のろのろあるく
strapping： 革ひもで結び付ける
resolved： 解決した
peered： じっと見つめる
infectious enthusiasm： お父さんの熱意が伝わること
hallmark： 顕著な特徴
all-encompassing： あらゆるものを含む
eclipses： 覆い隠す

2016年7月7日木曜日

2016年7月7日木曜日 -

Club 9 Lessons: July Week Two

7/09 – John K
Parenting

The term “helicopter parent” is used to describe a parent who takes an overprotective or excessive interest in the life of their child or children. Some parents believe that putting too much pressure on children has adverse effects. Others argue that such pressure is necessary to motivate children who are lazy or uninterested in school. What do you think is the best way to motivate children to learn or study? How much pressure is too much pressure? What other challenges do modern-day parents and educators face and what are the best ways to deal with them?

7/10 – Martin
Social Media

The application “Line”, which is used for instant communications on electronic devices such as smartphones, tablet computers and personal computers, now has 50 million users in Japan (40% of the population). With such widespread use of Line and other social media, communication and lifestyles have changed world wide. What impact has social media had on your life? How do you think social media use has changed Japan and the world? What does the future hold for social media and communication?

7/13 – LawryThe News


We’re going to talk about what’s been happening in the world and in Japan.

2016年7月1日金曜日

2016年7月1日金曜日 -

Anna: 4th of July


On July 4th in the United States, Americans celebrate Independence Day, also called 4th of July. This day celebrates the anniversary of July 4th, 1776, when the United States became its own country without British rule. The 4th of July didn't become a national holiday until 1870, and now usual celebrations include a fireworks show and outdoor activities like barbecues and family picnics, since it is in the middle of summer. Although it depends on the family or area, usual 4th of July foods include hot dogs and hamburgers. Sometimes concerts or festivals are held, usually with red, white, and blue decorations and songs celebrating America. Many of these songs and activities talk about the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812, where America and Britain fought against one another. The 4th of July is also a federal holiday, so all government services like banks and post offices are closed, and many people have the day or weekend off of work.
 
Anniversary：celebration of an event every year at the same time
rule ： control, government, ownership
national ：covering the whole country
decorations ：colorful or interesting materials used to make something look better/nicer
Revolutionary War：war between original 13 British colonies and Britain (later involving France, Spain, the Netherlands, and India)

federal ： related to the government

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