After four Halloween parties at the end of October, I was exhausted, and took a bit of a break.  I'm back now, and though it's a little late, I would like to finish my series on "masks". Due to corona, all students had to wear masks at the parties of course.  I decided to turn this into an opportunity.  I gave each student a plain white mask as a canvas and challenged them to create their own original mask to wear with their costume.  We had a contest with prizes for the best masks.  I wanted to share some of their wonderful creations with you here, unfortunately, the photo quality wasn't good enough to zoom into the masks without revealing the identity of the children, as you can see here: So, here are some random funny masks off of the internet:     I wonder, when can we finally take off these masks??? Finally, here are a few pictures from my Halloween.

Let's get right into it.  Mask idioms.

1.   Let your mask slip.  He drank  a lot at that party, he let his mask slip and we saw his true self.
2. Throw off your mask.  How long have you been living like this?  Don't you think it's time to throw off your mask and show the world your true nature?
3. Mask out.  I planted some bushes on the edge of my property to mask out the parking lot.

1. Love often wears a mask in order to test loyalty.   Minna Antrim
2. Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.   Oscar Wilde
3. Virtue has a veil, vice a mask.   Victor Hugo
4. It's in literature that true life can be found. It's under the mask of fiction that you can tell the truth.   Gao Xingjian
5. Boldness is a mask for fear, however great.   John Dryden

What do you think about masks?  Do you hate them as much as I do?   For the next few posts, I want to talk about the good and evil of masks. I had an interesting conversation about masks the other day, and it got me thinking about what changes they are causing to society. 1.  I haven't seen some of my students faces for so long, or in some cases, ever! 2.  We had a barbecue in August, when my  students took off their masks to eat, I almost cried.  It had been so long.  For some of them, it was my first time to see their face.  It was so different from my image. 3.  One of my new students was on TV last week, I couldn't recognize her without her mask. 4.  Are we all going to look different to each other after two years of not seeing faces? 5.  New babies have a hard time recognizing emotions without seeing the mouths of people.  I worry what this is doing to their development. 6.  I have a hard time hearing what my students are saying if I can't see their mouths.  I thought I was losing my hearing, so I went to an ear doctor last Friday.  He told me my ears were just fine! I really hate masks, but I know they're necessary to get past this disease.  I hope we can conquer it soon and get back to normal . . . or "new normal". Next time . . . . Mask idioms . . . and Halloween?

Today's song.

The First Time Ever I saw your face

Roberta Flack

The first time ever I saw your face I thought the sun rose in your eyes And the moon and the stars were the gifts you gave To the dark and the endless skies, my love To the dark and the endless skies And the first time ever I kissed your mouth I felt the earth move in my hand Like the trembling heart of a captive bird That was there at my command, my love That was there at my command, my love And the first time ever I lay with you I felt your heart so close to mine And I knew our joy would fill the earth And last 'til the end of time my love And it would last 'til the end of time The first time ever I saw your face Your face, your face, your face

Here is a bonus.  Funny corona masks:

Today is August 12th, the day before Obon.  It has been so cool last night, and this morning.  A nice cool breeze is blowing through my house.  I haven't even had to use my air conditioner today! So why "irony"?  After one of the hottest months on record in Akita and Japan, my bedroom air conditioner is finally being installed right now as I type this.    My old air conditioner which we've been using for about 30 years, stopped suddenly on July 9th, over a month ago.   We spent a hot month, but the electricians were so busy that even thought we ordered  a new air conditioner the next day, they were booked until today. [caption id="attachment_2220" align="alignnone" width="264"] 30 year-old Mitsubishi air conditioner[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2221" align="alignnone" width="800"] New air conditioner[/caption] Oh well, THAT IS LIFE! I'm sure we'll have a few more hot days this summer, and I'm sure we'll enjoy our new air conditioner for years to come. (30 years?) Hope you're enjoying a safe and relaxing summer.  Akita has the lowest Corona infection rates in Japan, so congratulations!   Summer Special. Yesterday I spent an amazing morning swimming near Sakurajima  in Oga.  Simply beautiful, and NO people! Click here for Youtube video.

Are you enjoying the "2020" Tokyo Olympics? Many people have mixed emotions about holding the Olympics during an ongoing pandemic.  Me too!   However, I am trying to enjoy them without thinking too much about the downside. Some didn't like the opening ceremony, I thought it was great.  I love pageantry.  After overcoming so many scandals days before, the final product was very satisfying for me.  I thought it struck a balance between seriousness and fun. Some of my highlights: The "in memoriam" modern dance. The Olympic pictogram live performance. https://youtu.be/eTZY2ky1Z1Q     The drone show. The lighting of the torch by Naomi Osaka. What were your favorite moments? Good luck to all the athletes who have waited so long for their chance.  I hope these games can bring a brief break from all the bad news we've had. Here are the current medal standings.  Japan is in 2nd place! (July 26th). On another note, thanks to the Olympics, I had a five day vacation.  I went cycling, worked in my garden, and had a wonderful overnight vacation to Yuzawa.  We went to the borders of Akita, but still didn't step out.             AHHH!  Beautiful Akita!

  Happy 4th of July.  Today is America's Independence Day, and I am celebrating at home . . . again.  Is freedom coming soon? I finally got my appointment for my corona vaccine, and yesterday I contacted my three kids in Tokyo, Yokohama, and Kyoto.  All three of them will get their vaccination shot in July or August!  All of them before me.  I was really surprised.  I can't wait until we are all free from Covid 19! Here are 10 convenient phrases using "free".

1.   Free spirit:  He is really a free spirit.  There is no controlling him!

2. Free loader:  My cousin has been freeloading with us for years.  I'm getting sick of it.

3. Freeway;  Take Freeway 107 to Los Angeles.  It's the shortest route.

4. Feel free to:   Feel free to jump in any time.

5. Free speech:  Free speech was stopped short in Hong Kong last week.

6. Are you free?  I'm having a dance party Friday night, are you free?

7. Free lunch:  There's no such thing as a free lunch.

8. Free range:  We use only free range chickens at our restaurant.  I think you'll notice the difference.

9. Fat free:  Are these Lindor chocolates really fat free?  I can't believe it!

10. Home free:  After you graduate, you will be home free!

Today's BGM;

We shall be Free

Garth Brooks

This ain't comin' from no prophet, Just an ordinary man. When I close my eyes, I see the way this world shall be When we all walk hand in hand. When the last child cries for a crust of bread, When the last man dies for just words that he said, When there's shelter over the poorest head, We shall be free. When the last thing we notice is the color of the skin, And the first thing we look for is the beauty within; When the skies and the oceans are clean again, Then we shall be free. We shall be free, we shall be free. Stand straight, walk proud, 'Cause we shall be free. When we're free to love anyone we choose, When this world's big enough for all different views, When we all can worship from our own kind of pew, Then we shall be free. We shall be free, we shall be free Have a little faith, hold out, 'Cause we shall be free. And when money talks for the very last time, And nobody walks a step behind; When there's only one race, And that's mankind, then we shall be free. We shall be free ,we shall be free Stand straight, (walk proud,) Have a little faith, (hold out;) We shall be free. We shall be free, we shall be free, (Stand straight,) stand straight, (Have a little faith,) walk proud, 'Cause we shall be free.

I reset my videos.  I think you can see them now.  Thank you to my students who told me about the problem!