Does TV control your life?  How much TV do you watch everyday?  I've noticed that my  kids, and youth in general watch far less TV than their parents.  Do you think this is a good thing for society?   We have far fewer shared experiences than we used to now. Last weekend, I bought a Fire TV stick from Amazon.  It's great!  Now I can watch Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, Ameba on my TV instead of the computer. I can enjoy all of this while sitting on my sofa. Isn't modern technology great?  I'm afraid I'll start to put down roots. Today, let's learn a few words about watching TV: channel hopping.  When you sit down and keep changing  channels until you finally find something to watch.   binge watching.  When you sit down and watch all the episodes of a tv series.   couch potato.  Someone who sits and watches tv for TOO LONG (all day)   flat Screen TV.  The new tv's the name says it all.   prime time.  (ゴールデン・タイム)The time when most people are watching tv.  The commercials are usually most expensive during this time. (19:00-to-22:00 ). family friendly.  TV shows that are okay for the entire family.   Reality TV:  A program that puts regular people in strange circumstances and starts filming.   57 Channels (And Nothin' On) :  My BGM song today. This is a great song my Bruce Springsteen, and it's so true.  Much of the time, there is nothing worth watching on TV.         Click here  for the lyrics. and here for the video. Happy watching!

April is the time for new beginnings in Japan, new schools, new jobs, new houses or apartments.  Do you have anything new starting this month? Here are some great idioms using "begin": Begin to see daylight, means to begin to see the end of a long job. 例文：I've been working on this report for two years, but I think I'm finally beginning to see daylight. To begin with, means first, or most importantly. 例文:   To begin with, we don't have enough money for university, even though you want to go! Life begins at forty,  means by the time you are forty years old, you have enough experience and skill to do what you want to do with your life. 例文：What are you talking about?  You're not too old to get married, life begins at forty you know! Now, three proｖerbs (ことわざ） Charity begins at home.  Something that you say which means you should try to help your family and friends before you help other people. 例文　You should stay home and take care of your mother, charity begins at home you know. He who begins many things, finishes but few.  If you start a lot of projects, you will not have time and energy to complete them all. 例文：　　My house is filled with unfinished projects, I guess it's true, he who begins many things, finishes but few. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  A difficult job can usually be started by doing a simple thing.            This was also one of my first posts on this blog. 例文：　I want to paint my house, but I'm afraid to start. I guess I should buy some brushes first.  A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  I have many new things beginning this year.  I will start new classes in May, I will post more information on that later. But most importantly, I have recently become a grandfather, and my new grandson will be moving into out home next week. YEA! YEA!  NEW BEGINNINGS!!!

  My family spent a week in America to visit my Mother and relatives.  We just got back late  Saturday night, and I'm still suffering from jet lag.  （時差ボケ）　I wake up at 3:00 a.m. and am unable to get back to sleep. So, here I am writing my new post in the middle of the night.  I hope I get over this quickly! We really had a good time in America, but it was a very short trip, with a long travel time. It was great to see my family and friends again, but it reminded me how far away I live.  I guess my home is in Akita now.  It felt great to "come home" again. Here are three proverbs about family: Baldness runs in my family. （うちは禿る家系だ）   I'm the black sheep of the family.　（私は家族の外れもの）   Blood is thicker than water.　(血は水よりも濃い）   Here are a few pictures from my trip.   [caption id="attachment_938" align="alignnone" width="1024"] My neice Charsty and her 4 beautiful daughters[/caption] [caption id="attachment_939" align="alignnone" width="768"] We had a pie party on Sunday night. Everyone brought a different pie. They were delicious![/caption] [caption id="attachment_940" align="alignnone" width="1024"] mmmmm! Steak and lobster. Delicious![/caption] [caption id="attachment_958" align="alignnone" width="576"] My mother.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_941" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Utah's Capitol Building[/caption] [caption id="attachment_942" align="alignnone" width="768"] My daughter practicing holding her relative. (cousins's daughter)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_952" align="alignnone" width="1024"] My Mother had a birthday party for all her children at once. 10 birds with one stone![/caption]   [caption id="attachment_943" align="alignnone" width="1024"] We found this beautiful memorial to the Tohoku Earthquake victims in Portland Oregon International Airport.[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_945" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The ex-governor of Portland.[/caption]

I walked through Akita Station, Popo Road on Monday afternoon, and was surprised to see the new stores and Akita Cedar interior.  It smelled wonderful.     Akita City, and Prefecture have started a new campaign: Northern Station Gate Akita, in hope of making Akita the gateway to Tohoku.  I think it's a good idea, and wish them luck. Even though Akita has some of the most beautiful scenery  I've seen, and the best Summer Festival, Kanto, it still has the lowest number of foreign visitors in Tohoku.  WHY!!! What can we do to help sell Akita to the world?  I think the first thing is to be welcoming with visitors.  Learning English is the first step for this.  Next time you see a foreigner on the street, how about casually greeting them?  Nothing fancy, just Hello, or Good morning, etc.  It could be the beginning of an interesting conversation, or even a new friendship.  

February was so short and quick!  March is here already.  Here are a few English phrases using "March". Trump is as mad as a March hare!  (means he's crazy)     He marches to a different drummer!  (means he does his own thing and doesn't worry about what others think).   The march of time doesn't stop.  (you cannot stop time)   They are all marching against Trump. (to protest).   March comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb.  (March starts with harsh weather, but finishes with warm spring weather.)   By the way, did you know the month March was named after the Roman war god Mars.  Is that connected to marching?   I don't know . . . hmmm.   おまけ Last Wednesday and Thursday I went out camping again.  It was a rare beautiful sunny day in Akita.

I first came to Akita in 1985.  I know, I'm so old!  At that time, one of my favorite stores was パレドゥー.  Do you remember?  For a short time between ジャスコ秋田店 and FORUS, there was パレドゥー. I have many good memories there.  They had a SONY Plaza store where I could buy many American snacks and books before the internet or AMAZON.COM.  I enjoyed many movies at Cinema Palais.   I also remember saving up and trading in blue chip stamps at the store there.   Last Sunday my wife and I went for a final visit to our old dating grounds.  I walked through the store from top to bottom and said good-bye to a part of Akita's history. I hope the store renewal open in October will be successful. Good luck OPA!!!     I hope the young people in Akita will be able to make many good memories there!    

I called my mother today to talk about going to America next month.  She didn't answer.   She is out of town.  Then I remembered today is a holiday in America. The third Monday of February is President's Day.  It started as "Washington's Birthday" (George Washington was born on February 22nd 1732), and has now changed to "President's Day".  Abraham Lincoln was also born in February (12th, 1809), so the birthdays were combined to make a new holiday. There is no big celebration, but everyone takes advantage of the three day weekend to go out of town. For some reason I'm feeling a little depressed about President's Day this year . . . . I wonder why? 例文 I'll be going out of town for the rest of Trump's presidency. My wife is out of town for the weekend, let's PARTY!!! I'm sorry I'll miss class next week, I'll be out of town.