Book Discoveries: Tuesdays with Morrie
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Book Discoveries: Tuesdays with Morrie

I don’t know what took me so long to read Tuesdays with Morrie. It’s famous and recommended constantly, but I somehow let it go by the wayside for years. Finally, I got my hands on a copy, and it was horse-blinders until I was finished with it. I read the whole book in a day: I started it after the morning meeting – I read it between classes – and then I sped home so I could finish it in my apartment. ..

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Callin’ All Politicos: The Power Dilemma

With the gravity of the situation at Fukushima lessening, attention has begun to shift to larger questions surrounding the accident. What were the failures of the power company TEPCO and government oversight that lead to this incident occurring? Was the accident really preventable given the sheer scale of the tsunami? Discussion and investigation continues, but…

English Sensei Spirit: Twenty Questions Daily
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English Sensei Spirit: Twenty Questions Daily

(Printouts are at the bottom of the post) Question and Answer Daily Speaking Practice One of the greatest disasters of the Japanese English education system is the lack of speaking and listening practice.  But with the ever looming “Entrance Exams,” it’s always a question of how? Students already have too much to memorize and not…

Kobe Jazz Review: SONE
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Kobe Jazz Review: SONE

Sone is the oldest Jazz club/restaurant in Kobe. It’s a family business. It’s also one of the largest clubs in Kobe. It’s in every guidebook that mentions Kobe’s Jazz scene, English or Japanese, and is at the top of the list, or near the top, every single time. Their food is, while expensive, very good, and their bartenders make a wide selection of proper cocktails, which are rated in the menu by alcohol content. If I were just judging the food and drink, I’d put it in the guidebooks myself…

Daruma is My Homeboy
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Daruma is My Homeboy

“七転び八起き” ななころびやおき” The expression roughly translates to: 7 times fall down, 8th time get back up, and it is a famous saying in Japan associated with the father of Zen Buddhism; called Daruma, the first monk from India to have brought the sect to China and Japan is otherwise known as Dharma. Daruma is my…