Science fiction helps you to learn new vocabulary.

Re:Genesis is a Canadian TV series about the scientists. NorBAC, "North American Biotechnology Advisory Commission," is the science lab which police ask for help when weird and struggling cases occur. Topics are what we are facing in the real world. NorBAC investigates wide variety of cases such as bio-terrorism, infectious diseases, sudden and massive fatalities of people or animals due to sudden mysterious changes in environment.

David Sandstrom, the leader of NorBAC team, has many issues like alcoholism and family issues. He is rather human-like character when comparing with Holmes. But sure you can enjoy thrilling action, love romance, family bonds, and the latest science technology in Re:Genesis. NorBAC team utilizes the most advanced equipment identifying much smaller details. A magnifying glass or a microscope cannot do that much.

Let me introduce one episode. Multiple blackouts in cities occurred and police started investigating for possible terrorism. However, police failed to find a single evidence which shows the presence of human being on sites and they asked NorBAC for help.

NorBAC team finds weird traces on power cables in power plants and further conducts DNA examination. As the results, the team identifies bacteria which eats artificial and synthetic substances causing blackouts.

When I watched this series during high school years and themes seemed unrealistic, yet we are now actually identifying various issues including strange climatic variation, radical shifts in ecosystem, and ethical issues in accordance with rapid developments in science like artificial gene synthesis.

In real world, Japanese scientists find bacteria eating plastic in 2016 and they expect to largely reduce plastic wastes. But what if such bacteria expands in public? The story can be realistic.

Re:Genesis is the one you need to learn science, math, medical science, politics and to gain your knowledge and vocabulary! Moreover, this drama is also good for someone who wants to improve your pronunciation and listening skill. Main characters speak Canadian, American, British, Latin and Asian English since the NorBAC lab has many staffs with different nationalities.

A Morbid Taste for Bones

This book was a very interesting. First, Cadfael has attractive character. He is a monk, but he is different from other monks, because he has a lot of experiment, he is now in fifties. When he was young, he used to be a sea captain, working for the King of Jerusalem. He also has a lot of knowledge about medicines that helps him to search for clues about murder incident. I think he is different from another famous detectives such as Sherlock Holms, Kindaichi, or Konan.

Q. What kind of person makes a good detective? Look at this list and give Cadfael a mark out of 10 for each one.

I think there three things are important for good detectives.

First, understanding people is important, because a kind of incidents such as murder needs someone's strong motivation. So if detectives can understand the relationship between people and find out the motivation about the incidents, the detective can solve the mystery.

Second, noticing small details is necessary for detectives. This skill sometimes should be key to solve mysteries. Detectives have to search expression of faces from a lot of people.

Finally, intelligent is base for detectives. Cadfael has a lot of knowledge of herbs and medicine. Actually, this knowledge helps him to solve the incident. I don't know detectives who don't have this ability.

After all, I though these skills and abilities were also needed for engineers like me, because we should understand our team members, notice small details when we do experiments and we should study hard for our specialities.

Masao Kuroda

Seven Stories of Mystery and Horror

This book has following seven stories of mystery and horror, written by Edgar Allan Poe.

1. THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM, a prisoner wakes up to find himself in a dark cell with a deep pit.

2. THE GOLD BUG, a golden insect leads to an incredible discovery.

3. THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF MR VALDEMAR, a patient is hypnotised minutes before he dies. Is he really died?

4. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, a man visits an old friend and finds himself in a house full of horrors.

5. DOWN IN THE MAELSTROM, a sailor describes a terrifying trip through the maelstrom.

6. THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, prince Prospero has a party in his castle. But no one can scape the red death-not even a prince.

7. THE OBLONG BOX, a traveller boards a ship to New York. What does he carry in the oblong box?

I felt human's death and fear from every stories, especially THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM and THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER. Only THE GOLD BUG is a story of adventure and solution of a riddle, that's why it is the most favorite one in this book.

Junji

Unquiet Graves

This story is horror and mystery.

Four friends - Frankie, Regan, Jack, Tom - are members of their school's archeology club. They helped a 'dig' in an archeological site on their holiday. Frankie became strange since she slided down into a big black hole and got half broken coin. Afterwards, they heard this village sad story from archeologist Leo. To solve the mystery of this village, they moved into action.

The dead people aren't necessarily always restfully asleep. Sometimes, the dead people spirits might haunt this world when commit an offense during the lifetime and can't seek a place where they can live in peace.

The Phantom airman

Last time I read "Unquiet Gloves" written by Allan Frewin.

This is a series of story that four children who are belonging to archeology club. It was a boring story for me and I couldn't understand well it at first.

However, after reading the story I tried 'Points for understanding' and repeated to read it roughly, I understand it at last. I found that this is a difficult story, because suddenly the four children is taken away to the about sixty yeas ago many times by a ghost, the key character in this story.

The Stranger

This story is the very strange.

One day, a man appeared in the village. His name was Dave Slatin. He liked this village and opened a shop. He was very good-looking and he was liked by the villagers. The shop prospered and he employed Ann as an assistant. There was the special order room which was not usually used in the shop. Ann was interested in the locked special order room and wanted to learn the inside. Three special customers visited the shop. Dave Slatin showed them into the locked room. Ann distrusts him and began to search for those secrets...

I was very surprised at the end of the story. I think the last customer was Dave. He moved into action to realize his hope at the end.

Seven Stories of Mystery and Horror.

I don’t like horror stories. But this book is interested. I was able to read easily a little, because each story was very short.

My favorite story is “The Gold Bug”. It’s Mastery. I was not able to understand story when I saw this title. The man solved the code that found treasure of Captain Kid’s.

I researched the code and the author. Because I think that the code is very real.
Edgar was very well informed about the code. Before two years writing this book, He challenged solving to the code that these were given by his reader.
The imagination exists together to the fact in this story. I was able to read this book happily. I think that this story is an adventure.

eiji