Jaz Santos vs The World - profile of the player

You may have heard the name Jaz. Her name is Jasmine Santos-Campbell. She is a famous football player who played in the World Cup.

When she was eleven years old, she approached some people and formed a team.

Their coach was Rhiannon. She taught them that the things a player does off the field are as important as the things they do on the field. Some players become role models for young people.

In the final against the Silverton Shiners, at her first tournament, Bramrock Stars FC, where Jaz is a captain, played fairly and fought as a team. The game finished 2-2, and finally they won it on penalties.

She trusts her team, building good relationships.

Posted for Ritsuko

A respected football player - Daizen Maeda (Celtic & Japan)

 I will introduce a football player I respect. On Friday, May 15th, JFA (Japan Football Association)
announced the national team members for the FIFA World Cup 2026, starting June 11. Daizen Maeda was selected as a member of the Japanese national team. You may have seen news recently that he scored a goal in the most recent match against Hearts, which helped secure the Scottish Premiership title.

In 2016, Maeda started his career at Matsumoto Yamaga FC. After joined Mito HollyHock on a loan deal, gaining valuable experience, he contributed to Matsumoto Yamaga’s championship victory and promotion to the J1 (first tier) League in 2018. He played for Maritimo in the Portuguese League and Yokohama F. Marinos, and is currently playing for Celtic in Scotland.

When 18-year-old Maeda joined Matsumoto Yamaga FC, he declared that his dream was to become a member of the Japanese national team. Almost all of the supporters didn't think it would ever happen and it would just end up as a dream. However, he made his dream come true. The ex-director of Matsumoto Yamaga FC said that Maeda remained humble and serious even after he became famous. I think that he put a lot of effort into getting to where he is today, and learned that it is important to say a dream and act to make dreams come true.

He and the national team are seriously aiming to win the FIFA World Cup 2026. I truly believe that dreams come true someday, and I want to fully cheer him and the team.

Hard Worker Boxer - after reading "Animal Farm"

 The animal that I felt sorry for is Boxer. He deeply trusted Napoleon, and he made his best in the Battle of the Windmill and worked hard to build a new windmill as per the pigs’ instruction/decision, though he was old, had not enough food to eat, and hurt his hoof in the Battle of the Windmill. After his hoof got a little better, he worked harder than before like slaves together with all the animals except for the pigs.

When he could not work for a few days, he was taken by a company that sells Dog Food.Boxer was sold by the pigs who Boxer deeply trusted for the pigs’ money. And after his death, the pig Squealer lied about Boxer’s death and his last words.

The pigs Boxer trusted, deceived and betrayed him throughout his entire life. The pigs said that Boxer died in the animal hospital with his last words being: “I’m sorry I couldn’t finish the windmill”, and “But remember: Napoleon is always right”. This is the point that I feel most sorry for Boxer.

Postcard from Berlin, Germany

 Dear Jim sensei,

It is sunny with clear blue sky in Berlin. This must be the best season to visit here. Not too cold, not too hot...just comfortable!

We came here for usiness, but we had chances to visit many famous places like Brandenburg Gate and East side gallery.

We walked around everyday, as our phone told us it's over 18,000 steps per day! We believe we became healthier during our stay in Berlin.

Ritsuko and Tomoko

How do you think about "Hunting"?

 We sometimes encounter wild animals due to some reasons. Wild animals may come near human dwellings to search for food as they are unable to find it in their territories due to climate changes and natural disasters. Humans may build their homes in the area where wild animals live.

I think that hunting is not immoral and shouldn't be illegal. Wild animals will face more challenges in finding food in the future due to climate changes and natural disasters. It is common knowledge that wild animals only search for food and do not intend to harm humans. To make wild animals aware of the danger of approaching human dwellings, it's best to return them to their area and to protect wild animals’ lives. However, wild animals have a habit of coming back again if they have tasted once. Thus, we will need to use Hunting continuously to protect people’s lives.

Each community should control land utilization and development plans (also known as land adjustment plans) to distinguish between areas where people and wild animals live. And then, if necessary, I think that hunting should be kept to the minimum needed to protect people's lives, taking into consideration the ecological effect.

These are why Hunting is not immoral and should not be illegal for me.

You may not be able to help laughing at Box Cart Race

It has been decided that the event “Red Bull Box Cart Race” will be held in Matsumoto next year.

The original name is “Soapbox race”. It is said to have begun when American children enjoyed race using a soapbox with wheels. This race is called as below. “Box Cart Race in South Africa and Japan because soap box is less familiar with in Japan. “Red Bull Billy Cart Grand Prix” in Australia. “Red Bull Carros Locos” in Peru which means “Crazy race” in Spanish. “Red Bull Caisses a Savon” in France. “Red Bull Ladeira Abaixo” in Brazil which means “to the bottom” in Portuguese. “Red Bul Trolley Grand Prix” in New Zealand. “Red Bull Zeepkisten Race in Netherland.

This race started in 2000 at Brussels. More than 110 races have been held in the worldwide. At the race held in London in 2019, more than 20,000 people visited. Racer can ride a handmade car without engine. All teams are scored in some points of Creativity, Performance, and Time to goal. External design including costume, Car performance etc. are very important to laugh audiences much and to win the race. All teams drive the funniest handmade cars at full power and play it straight.

Due to COVID-19, we had to stay at home almost 2 years and this race will be an unforgettable event for audiences. I recommend our company to sponsor this event.

 

Did Japanese folk monster Kappa really exist?

 Do you know Japanese folk monster named “Kappa”? It is very famous in Japan, and there are various Kappa all over Japan. They love cucumber and Sumo and have some common characteristics which have shell like a turtle, snout-like mouth like bird, web hand like a frog, and a plate on their head.　It seems that Kappa is one of river gods. Plate on head is the most important feature for Kappa and it is always wet and even if the plate is dry or broken, Kappa is unable to live.

It is not known what purpose Kappa existed for, but there are some stories that Kappa brings some happiness into the life of people who helps Kappa.

I think that Kappa may exist in ancient Japan with the following reasons. Firstly, there are some writing and painting with Kappa’s story. Secondly, some mummified remain believed to Kappa were discovered. Lastly, people may need folklore in ancient Japan to tell important thing with a big impact.

In the conclusion, I assume that people utilize Kappa’s story to say children to stay away from river not to cause water accidents of children with no adult round. The folklore will give children bigger impact than usual instruction/advice.

Voyage of the Bounty

William Bligh was selected as the captain of HMS Bounty. The voyage of the Bounty had a mission to take breadfruits, which were considered to be inexpensive food for slaves. Bounty had no Marines to protect the vessel. The vessel was operated by 3 shifts ('watches'), and was controlled by Bligh and Fletcher Christian. 

On April 28, 1789, Christian forced Bligh and 18 crew mates off the Bounty, and they were set adrift in a boat without a roof or sides, with not enough water for a few days. They also had knives and some tools to sail, but they did not have marine charts or a compass.

Bligh strongly believed that their boat could reach safety because he had good navigation skills and sailing experience. Bligh wanted to go to Timor, which was more than 7,000 km away, to announce the mutiny to the United Kingdom. They stopped off at Tofua to collect food and water, but one crew member was killed by local people.

After the accident at Tofua, they continued sailing towards Timor, reaching it 47 days after they were set adrift. This voyage was successful due to Bligh’s excellent seamanship and his crew’s cooperation. Was the mutiny caused by Bligh's tyrannical captaincy? 

Black Lives Matter

I saw Women’s Singles of the 2020 U.S. open tennis with interest because I could know in detail seven terrible cases for black victims printed on Naomi’s face mask for each of her matches. Everyone knows that these seven victims are just a little bit of past numerous cases/things that don’t make sense for black people. 

I saw two social issues for the seven victims. I personally think that people sometimes target at someone/people in specific area at the unconscious level to feel that they are taking a superior position to the targeted ones and to strengthen the relationship with other peoples except for the targeted person/people, and not to be left out of group/organization. The thinking at unconscious level will cause bullying as a familiar example and racial discrimination. 

We should understand completely that black, brown, yellow, and white are same human and have no advantage or disadvantage. Another issue is guns. In the USA, if a police officer gets close to a suspicious person, police may need to adopt the tightest security measures because suspicious person has a possibility of carrying a gun, otherwise police officer may get killed by one shot. If a citizen is not allowed to have a gun, police officer may not play as justifiable defense and may not force suspicious person down to the ground like Mr. George Floyd was. I hope that people who do not have any gun are increased in the future not to cause terrible cases like the seven black victims and gun shooting incident. 

I also hope that countries without guns, like Japan, are kept that way.

My hopes for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games

The 2020 Olympic Games are coming to Tokyo next July, and I have two hopes for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

The first is to encourage people around the world to be more interested in Japan, as a lot of people don’t know much about our country. Some people may believe that ninja and/or samurai still live in Japan. Most of the countries can watch the events on TV. I hope that the Tokyo Olympic Games will be a chance for a lot of people to learn more about, and become interested in, Japan.

The second is to hold the Tokyo Olympic Games without terror attacks or acts of destruction. Unfortunately, I believe that the Olympic Games are very tempting target for the terrorists. In the Atlanta Olympic Games of 1996, a bomb was left in a park, with very big crowds, by an American man. The bomb was found by Richard Jewell, and a lot of people could escape, but the incident still the loss of two lives.

Most Japanese do not have enough crisis awareness with regard to terrorist etc., and still think the police can protect us. I’m not sure about this assumption. However, we should enjoy the Olympic Games with our eyes open to finish the Tokyo Olympic Games safely and to enjoy a wonderful Tokyo Olympic Games.

Sport is a greatest way for better relationships - After reading

In 2019 Rugby World Cup, Team Japan called “BRAVE BLOSSOMS” defeated team Ireland ranked No. 1 now. When they defeated South Africa 4 years ago in last Word Cup in Brighton, it was said that team Japan could defeated with luck, but this time they could defeat team Ireland with their hard training and strong brave.

Confident Ireland fan - before!

The rugby was not popular well in Japan like Judo, Football, Volleyball etc and had limited chance to see Rugby games in TV. However, the 2019 Rugby World Cup made a lot of fans or supporters of rugby in Japan and became an opportunity to know opponents. When we can know opponents’ history and relationship with home country, we can play game with them with respect and can give praise opponents’ good play/behavior.

My favorite football team often lose game, but I could switch positively when we could win at next game and remove the mortification because I understood opponents very well and saw that opponent made their best as well as my favorite team.

I think that Sport may not make us hold a grudge for a long time even if we lose the game. The positive cycle is able to establish better relationships between countries.

A short biographical profile of Isaac Newton - After reading

Isaac Newton was born at Woolsthorpe in Lincolnshire, England in 1643. He was raised by his grandmother because his father died before he was born and in 1645 his mother married a clergyman. His mother returned to him when her second husband died. Newton’s relatives found his ability and between he was 12-14 years old, Isaac Newton went to Grantham Grammar School and became interested in pharmaceuticals. However, his mother dropped him from the school to be a farmer.

Newton disliked farming, so his mother gave up making him a farmer and he went back to the grammar school again, and then he went to Trinity College of Cambridge.

In 1667 Isaac Newton was elected a fellow of Trinity College and a member of the Royal Society. He was Lucasian professor of mathematics from 1969 to 1702, which Stephen Hawking would be in the distant future. When he was at Cambridge, he got acquainted with professor Isaac Barrow who was a great admirer of Isaac Newton’s ability. Newton set out his theories of gravity, binomial theorem, derivation etc.

Regarding the gravity, it came into his mind when he relaxed with meditation and saw the fall of an apple. He thought why apples always fall to the ground straight, do not go sideways or upwards. He also discovered many things about light and designed a reflecting telescope. His paper about light and colors is very famous even now. He was died at the age of 84 in 1727, but his many ideas are important for all physicists today.

Postcard from Silk Road - After reading

Postcard I
Hi, I passed Pamirs which are located on high mountains 2 days before and am taking a day-off of long journey in a village at the foot of the mountain. The Journey in high mountains area were difficult for us to walk and to cook things because it is in thin air.
But, we saw unusual sheep there with very long, round horns. I have never seen that. I am not good at drawing, but please see my drawing of the unusual sheep.
On March 02, we start our journey to China again. I will send another postcard later.
I’m sad that I cannot be with you, but I am look forward to talking you about this journey when I am back to Venice. Of course, I promise you to bring a lot of souvenirs!
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Postcard II
Hi, I am staying in Kinsai. I often remember Venice when I visit Kinsai because it is a large city on the water like Venice. The people in Kinsai is clever and kind and they are working for silk cloth, other made things of silver or gold. There are 12,000 bridges and some very high bridges which big ships can easily go under the high bridges.
What I interested in here is bath houses. There are the hundreds of bath houses in Kinsai and people here usually take three times a month.  They are always giving visitors like us best service in bath house and always prepared us warm water.
I want to bring you here to know Kinsai and people in Kinsai someday. I will stay here for trading for a while and will send another postcard later.
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Postcard III
Hi, I am in Cipangu. Cipangu is a group of islands and is located in the east of the Khan’s empire. I heard before from Khan that these islands were rich in gold and had a large palace with floors and windows of gold.
When a warm and a sunny season is closing, I saw trees with beautiful flowers called Sakura in Cipangu. Some trees have white flowers and others have pink flowers. We could enjoy Sakura trees for long period because these are fully in bloom for 1-2 weeks.
Our trading in Cipangu is going well and will be finished within a few months. Once our trading is completed, I will be back to Venice. I am very happy to see you again and look forward to talking you about this journey.

Postcards from Scotland - After reading

Postcard 1

Hi, I am in Edinburgh of Scotland. I am visiting here to see “The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo” event near the castle of Edinburgh. Have you ever seen in TV etc that the people who put traditional kilt and play music instrument near the Edinburgh castle? I am exiting that I can see it soon!! I learned this time that the first performance conducted by the solders of Scotland and England to bring citizens back into good spirits after World War Two.

I am going to explore this city tomorrow. Let’s see together a lot of pictures taken in Edinburgh when I am back to Japan.

Postcard 2

Hi, I am walking to see Old and New Towns of Edinburgh. This area is very beautiful and I could see a lot of impressive architectures that blends the character of Old Town and New Town. There are many tourists because here was world heritage-listed area by UNESCO and I will see many tourists in fudge shop because fudge is famous as souvenir of Scotland. I will take some fudge to enjoy them with you with a cup of English tea.

I am going to visit the Isle of Skye tomorrow.

Postcard 3

Hi, I am in the Isle of Skye and this island was referred to “Skuy” (Isle of could/ misty isle). This isle is the northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland and you can enjoy a lot of nature activities by walking, boat etc.

I am visiting Fairy Pools, and there are crystal clear blue pools. I have never seen such a clear pools and recommend you to visit here someday. You can see the beautiful pools like photo of this postcard actually. I think it is worth to travel long distance to see beautiful or impressive natures in the Isle of Skye.

I will be back to Japan and look forward to talking you about this journey with a lot of pictures.

What's St. Patrick's Day?

Every March 17 is a death anniversary of St. Patrick (original name: Maewyn) who spread Christianity in Ireland and now many countries celebrate that date to take credit for his activity.

When he was sixteen years old, he was abducted as a slave and during he was slave in Ireland, he strongly believed Christianity and thought his task was to spread Christianity to people.

People usually celebrate this date with green items and shamrock because Ireland where St. Patrick spread Christianity, is sometimes called “The Emerald Isle” because a lot of the country is a beautiful green, like the color of emeralds and St. Patrick used a shamrock like clover to explain the Christian message of Trinity (Tri+Unity) simply and shamrock becomes a symbol of Christianity.

Also, people usually drink Guinness, which was originally made in Ireland.

You can see the Chicago River colored in green in Chicago and the tower lighted up in green in New Zealand. Also, you can see many big parades in the U.K, the U.S., Canada, Australia etc where many immigrants from Ireland live.

My hobbies - after reading "Alien Alert in Seattle"

I have 2 hobbies. The one is mountain climbing and the other is going to Yamaga's game for give them a boost.

As for the mountain climbing, I started it to get healthy and become strong in physical. The climbing is always quite hard and is needed patience because it takes 4-5 hours to the top of a mountain. I always wanted to give up the climbing, but the landscapes/supernatural of mountain were very very beautiful even if it's not sunny day and I have never seen similar landscapes depends on weather and climbing time. It's one of my motivation for mountain climbing. A climbing with colleagues and former bosses is my another motivation. Talking with them is fun for me. I usually climb 3-4 times every season.

As for going to Yamaga's game, I firstly watched their game in March 2012. The cheering made me excited and as soon as I went home after seeing 1st game for me, I saw YouTube to know Yamaga's chants and past games and many articles to know the team history. Yamaga's team style which plays very tough and hard, touches me emotionally regardless of game's score. Through the Yamaga's games, I felt happiness, sad, angry, frustration etc, but I learn that it is most important not to give up. I think Yamaga's game would be a good education for children. I usually go to Yamaga's game at homeground "Alwin" every 2 weeks and sometimes cheer for Yamaga's team at opposing team's ground with some friends who became friendly at Alwin.

My dream house - probably (After reading of Don't Tell Me What To Do)

I have never bought or built any own house, but I would like to describe my process plan how to buy an own house. If I have a child, I will probably buy the own house when the child enroll at an elementary school to avoid him/her from transferring the school.

In order to decide a layout of house, I would like to visit many houses what types of layout there are and what layout/function is convenience for my life style. Also, we should confirm what construction/material have the quality to last long and how maintenance is needed. From seeing many houses, I may get many useful ideas.

I think it is very important to imagine not only current but also future life style and to find a best solution with satisfaction at that timing. My thought mentioned above is caused by my experience. When I bought my current car, I checked many many cars at car park etc to know what internal/external design I really like because I thought it was very important to like the look of the car to ride for many years.

Now, over 10 years passed after I bought my current car and I still like it.
When a rough idea of layout/function is made, I will ask some home builders for quotation. It is likely that the quotations will exceed our budget, and I mayl review again what part we can handmade or eliminate and negotiate the home builder to do markdowns.

Plan to build my house - after reading Don't Tell Me What To Do

I have never bought or built any own house, but I would like to describe my process plan how to buy an own house. If I have a child, I will buy the own house when the child enroll at an elementary school to avoid him/her from transferring the school. In order to decide a layout of house, I would like to visit many houses what types of layout there are and what layout/function is convenience for my life style. Also, we should confirm what construction/material have the quality to last long and how maintenance is needed. From seeing many houses, I will get many useful ideas.

I think it is very important to imagine not only current but also future life style and to find a best solution with satisfaction at that timing. My thought mentioned above is caused by my experience. When I bought my current car, I checked many many cars at car park etc to know what internal/external design I really like because I thought it was very important to like the look of the car to ride for many years. Now, over 10 years passed after I bought my current car and I still like it.

When a rough idea of layout/function is made, I will ask some home builders for quotation. Maybe the quotations will exceed our budget, so I will review again what part we can handmade or eliminate and negotiate the home builder to do markdowns.

Profile of an admired adventurer: Ayako Imoto

The explorer that I admire is Ms. Ayako Imoto. She has a various face and is comedian and alpinist.

Not a very sensible thing to do

She debuted on national TV and was chased by Komodo dragon at first TV program. The Komodo dragon couldn’t catch Ms. Imoto. After the TV program which she debuted, she experienced many dangerous or hard jobs

One of her hard jobs was marathon at 24-hour TV and she run about 126km that was 3 full-marathon distance.

At a regular program that she was on the bill, she climbed the mountain Matterhorn at a height of 4,478 meters in the year 2012.

And in the year 2014, she tried to climb the mountain Everest at a height of 8,850 meters

But before her party tried to climb, some Sherpas who were expert in the mountain and help the party died due to snow avalanche. So, her party decided to drop the plan to climb the mountain Everest. It is said that this decision was sensible.

The point that I admire Ms. Ayako Imoto is as follows.

• She is normal/ regular woman like me. 
• She is unaffected 
• She is funny 
• She makes her dangerous/ hard task to the end 
• She has unbelievable courage 
• She tried to dangerous tasks which I wanted to withdraw my eyes from TV. 

I want to be a person who always challenge and smile like Ms. Ayako Imoto.

postcard from...Chicago, Illinois

Hi Jim-sensei,

I'm in Chicago & saw a TRUMP Tower.
I'm now eating a snow crab (picture).

Ritsuko

I spent a week in the States, and had a glass of freshly brewed beer, good meeting with lots of homework.

Tomoko