Washington Square -review & role-play

 

Review:

For me, the title of the book sounds exciting, because Washington Square (where this story is set) is in New York City, can which is the most exciting city in the world and the area surrounding the square has a high society atmosphere. So, I expected a kind of graceful, dramatic story, but unfortunately it is not so exciting.

Most of the characters are unique and eccentric, obstinate and lack flexibility. That makes for an unhappy ending to the story. Sadly, nobody becomes happy in this novel.

In the end, I thought cynically, is embroidery more important than Morris for Catherine!? 

 

 

Role-play :  Agony Aunt 

 

Dear Teruki,

I am confused about the situation with receiving a visit from my ex-lover Morris. I was madly in love with him before, as he was with me, I believe, but my father was strongly opposed to my engagement with him. My father never changed his mind that if I were to marry Morris, he would never give me a penny. I don’t mind if I get my inheritance or not, but is it right for Morris? I don’t know.

Anyway, he has just left me, all alone. I am completely miserable. I have lost my sanity. This deep sadness has controlled me for ages, until suddenly I heard the news that Morris wanted to visit me. It has made me really upset. I don’t know what should I do. Please advise me.

 

 

Dear Katharine,

You have been going through a difficult time in your life. I can imagine how disappointed you were with your father and your lover. I am so sorry that there is still deep sorrow in your heart. However, it is the time for rebirth. You should part from the pain and accept his visit with brand-new attitude. If you do not do it, you will terrible feelings of heartache forever. Just leave your persistence and have courage, be happy!!

 

Teruki

 

 

 

 

Museum of the city of New York

Here is a report about Museum of the city of New York.

The museum is located at 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street

 

First of all, the museum is open Friday to Sunday with the COVID safety guidelines.

 

1.           Museum visitors aged 5 and older must show proof they have received two (2) vaccine doses against COVID-19 along with another form of identification in order to enter the Museum.

2.           Masks must be worn at all times for all visitors over the age of two.

 

The following exhibits are available with a limited time period:

              Puppets of New York through April 3

              Rising Tide through May 1

              The Stettheimer Dollhouse through May 20

              Collecting New York’s Stories through May 15

 

The following are the ongoing exhibits:

              New York, New Music

              New York at Its Core

              Activist New York

              Timescapes

              Starlight

 

The following exhibits are upcoming:

              Celebrating the City from February 18

              Raise Your Voice from March 12

              Analog City from May 20

 

Some exhibits are available online:

              Activist New York Online

              The Greatest Grid

              America’s Mayor

              Reginald Marsh

              Worth & Mainbocher

 

I recommend New York at Its Core.  The exhibit shows us the history and the future of New York City.  As we already read the section of NYC in our reading book “American Cities”, you will enjoy the history and some old photos.  You will also enjoy the part of modern NYC as well as the future of the city.

Report on The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum was designed by the architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, and it's a registered UNESCO World Heritage site.The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a good place to learn about architecture as it offers activities for kids.

The Guggenheim Museum Group also has museums in Bilbao, Spain and Venice, Italy.

Current exhibits in New York:

The following exhibitions are ongoing.

- Vasily Kandinsky: Around the Circle from 8th Oct. 2021 to 5th Sep. 2022

He mined the expressive and spiritual possibilities of color, line, and form.

- Jennie C. Jones: Dynamics from 4th Feb. 2022 to 4th May 2022

Jennie C. Jones has produced works that respond to the museum's architecture by interweaving visual and aural experience.

- Gillian Wearing: Wearing Masks from 5th Nov. 2021 to 13th Jun. 2022

Gillian Wearing’s photographs, videos, sculptures, and paintings probe the tensions between self and society in an increasingly media-saturated world.

Collections

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum has lots of precious collections.

You can see Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and modern French masterpieces including works by Degas, Manet, Van Gogh, and more as regular exhibitions.

Yumi Tsukada

Washington Square - a happier ending

Catherine went off with Morris as soon as she arrived in New York from Europe.  Doctor Sloper was furious about it and Catherine was denied any fortune from him.  Sadly their marriage didn't last long, as Doctor Sloper had predicted, with Morris leaving her without waiting for the birth of their daughter, who was incredibly beautiful.

Their charming daughter grew up into an intelligent and adorable girl with her mother's loving much love and care, but she was physically fragile under their simple life.  As a result, when she was seven years old, she became seriously ill and desperate Catherine begged her father for his help.  As soon as he saw his granddaughter, Doctor Sloper loved her, as she reminded him of his loving wife and his cold stiff heart melted with love.  

Doctor Sloper had changed his will again, to have his granddaughter inherit all of his property, and he invited Catherine and her daughter back to his house and they lived together happily ever after.

Meanwhile Morris got on a Hudson River ship, which had just started their business as a pleasure boat, and looked for a new position.  He was so handsome and amusing that many women were attracted by his charm but all was just temporary because they found out his lazy nature easily.

The Captain of the ship was interested in Morris' reputation, he employed him as an official host of his pleasure boat to entertain people, which was perfect for Morris and soon the Hudson River Cruise became very popular and successful, Morris enjoyed himself on the boat for the rest of his life.

Posted for Sayuri

Sumo -Japanese traditional wrestling-

Dear my friend,

 

How are things with you? It's very cold here in winter.

If I remember right, you want to enjoy sport in my country, Japan. I recommend Japanese traditional wrestling “Sumo” as the sport you should see in Japan. In strained silence, wrestlers, called “Rikishi”, bump into one another with ripping through it, and in most cases, the match settles in a moment. I think this is a very entertaining sport that you will enjoy.

Sumo is Japan’s national sport. It has been practiced as a part of the Shinto ritual since olden times. Once you look at Sumo, you’ll realize it's more than a sport. If you want to see Sumo live, you should go to arenas during the period of the grand sumo tournament in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka. Especially, three tournaments take place Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena (Tokyo) in a year. You can buy tickets over the Internet or at the wicket of the arena. However, the tickets of the final day always get sold out immediately.

A lot of wrestlers go in for the tournament. My favorite wrestler is Hisashi Mitakeumi. He was born in Agematsu town, Nagano prefecture, so he is massively popular in Nagano.

I hope to see Sumo with you when next time we meet!

Best wishes,

Azumi Yanagida

Being brave

The bravest decision of mine for 30 years was making a trip alone to Leipzig to attend the 12th congress of World Association for Infant Mental Health (WAIMH) in 2010. It had been 23 years since I traveled abroad visiting friends in UK in 1987. WAIMH is a NPO for scientific and educational professionals promoting the mental wellbeing and healthy development of infants throughout the world, considering cultural, regional, and environmental variations, and to generate and disseminate scientific knowledge.

The information struck me that WAIMH is the one I should join. It was only 2 months before the congress was held but I could manage to organize everything to attend the congress and even planed an extra trip to Berlin after the congress. The atmosphere of the congress was very friendly, and I could make friends with participants from different countries, enjoyed the program and learned a lot. In Berlin I visited a kindergarten in woods to see how the outdoor nursery work well. I visited the East Site Gallery and other monuments for WW2, which were very impressive. They made me realize how silly human was to start the war and how brave the citizens to destroy the walls. 

I felt like that I had restored a balance between mind and body through the 10 days travel. An adventurous open-minded character was brought back to me.

Posted for Kyoko

Who do you want to meet?

If I could time travel, I would like to meet Mr. Naoki Matsuda who was a player of football team “Matsumoto Yamaga F.C.”. He had joined Matsumoto Yamaga F.C. in 2011 to promote the team to J-League category J1, but he collapsed from a heart attack on Aug. 02, 2011 and then died two days later. If I could have dinner with him, firstly I will report him in detail what 10 years the team spent.

I have many pleasant memories and a few painful memories for 10 years. I want to tell him my most pleasant game against Avispa Fukuoka which gained the J1 promotion in 2014 and my most painful game against Fagiano Okayama which was a play-off in 2016 and lost a point about 4 min before the game finishes. And, I will tell him that with his death as a start, AED was set widely.

In 2021, the team dropped to J-League category J3. I knew by the demotion that there are a given number of supporters who get hung on the outcome of games and must be back to category J2 though there are supporters who want to support the team whatever the team is categorized. I have a big concern that the supporters go into pieces because it will take much time to cheer for the team due to COVID-19.

I want to get advice from him in order to survive the team in the future. What goal should the team have? What should the supporters do?

 

A memo of three-day trip to London

First day: Go to the Big Ben. It’s the first time for me to visit to London. So, I think I should go the famous place. Don’t forget to take a photo in front of the Big Ben!!

At lunch time, I’ll have fish and chips at a famous restaurant around the area. (Before trip I must research good place.) At the dinner time, I go to pub😊

Second day: I visit the Windsor Castle where the Queen Elizabeth II stays at the weekends. There are some historical buildings. Especially I want to go inside of St. George’s Chapel.

I shouldn’t miss the castle town. There are also many historical places too. I enjoy sightseeing at the castle town. I’ll book nice hotel and stay there. At the night, I go to watch a play at theatre.

Third day: Going to Harrods to buy some souvenirs. I want to buy some tea, unfortunately I I’m not familiar with tea, so let’s ask shopper for the recommended. I wish to have teatime with scone before my flight if possible.  

During staying at UK, I’ll use ride a Red bus, Black taxi and the Tube for traveling as much as possible.