Yes it is true. This weblog entry was written in October, 2005. If you are a somewhat regular reader of my weblog, you may know that I devote a lot of space to American Idol while the season is on. I assume that this year won't be any different with the fifth season starting soon. Please visit often to see what I have to say. Today while shopping at a discount store, I ran across a season one retrospective for $1. I figured that it would be a fun watch...
I ran into this sentence today: there is a green car and a motorcycle on harriet street Students are supposed to read it, and then correct it for errors. The correct answer is: There are a green car and a motorcycle on Harriet Street. In prescriptive grammar, this compound subject (two singular nouns linked by "and") requires a third-person plural to-be verb in order to maintain subject-verb agreement. Most native English speakers would apply the "proximity principle"...
If you want to read this website in Japanese, please click here. The translation isn't perfect, but it might help you to understand better. There is a link to it on the right too. Let me pre-empt some of the "Well I don't speak, read, or write" comments that I may get. HA-HA.
At the grocery store, each kid gets a free cookie from the bakery when they come with their parents. Our little boy REALLY looks forward to getting a cookie. Usually we try to give him a (relatively clean) molasses or sugar cookie. Once-in-a-while he gets a chocolate one.
Last night as I was flipping through the channels, I found a rerun of Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" on the Science Channel. I stopped flipping, and watched it. That was interesting. I don't think that I've seen any of that show for years and years. I defy anyone to watch that show for more than five minutes and not end up trying out their own Carl Sagan impersonation. During a commercial break I found myself walking around the living room chanting "BILLIONS and BILLIONS" in my...
Who the hell is Mo Rocca? Why is he on my television, and... Why do I care what he thinks about anything?
Today Kazuko, Kenny and I went to the Sever's Family Corn Maze with our friends Andy and Chialing (and their little girl.) That was fun! We enjoy going to the corn maze every year. That is one of the highlights of our fall. At the corn maze there is: (of course) a corn maze, corn to eat, exotic animal petting zoo, pony and camel rides, a jug band, a corn "sandbox", and pig races. Kenny was especially excited about seeing the animals (especially a zebra), and...
Okay, so recently PBS played a two-part documentary on Bob Dylan. I didn't watch the show, but it seems to be the "talk of the town" on the streets, on local radio, and on TV. Most of the talk that I hear about Dylan on the radio is from callers and hosts gushing about Dylan's "greatness." Granted, Dylan has to be reasonably talented to have gathered and held on to such a following. He has done a lot, and has had a long career. I just don't get him. He had some hit ...
At dinner tonight I had a funny thought. I wondered what the TV Guide would look like if my two-year-old son named all of the programs. Here's what we came up with: "Bugs Bunny": Bunny "Tiny Toons": Baby Bunny "Roadrunner": "Mee Mee" "Prehistoric Planet": Dinosaur TV "Croc Files": Elephant hippo "Kenny the Shark": Kenny Shark (not bad) "The Simpsons": Sim-sims (also "Bart" or maybe "D'oh" -That's a long time ago!) "Haunt of the Hippo": Hippo TV "Zoboomafoo": Mafoo ...
I haven't posted much lately. There have been a few factors that have contributed to that. Busier-than-usual days at work. Stuff to do around the house/ Helping mom and baby TV shows that I am watching: Drew Carey, ER, Boston Legal, Desperate Housewives, the Simpsons, and my newest discovery: The Family Guy. Fantasy Football and Sumo My new video game (I am 44% finished. I need some extra time to clear the next stage.) Visits to the health club And a cold. A...
Today I received a package in the mail from my friend Fukashi in Japan. He sent me the latest version of my favorite video game, SaruGetYou 3! I was really surprised and happy! Surprised , because I didn't think that SGY3 would be out before the launch of the new PlayStation console; and happy , because I have been itching to play a video game lately. I am looking forward to spending some time this weekend working through the various puzzles in the game. GANBARU-...
Two weekends ago, my wife and I took our son (Kenny) to see grandma and grandpa in Duluth. Kenny had lots of fun up there. Me, the baby, and my parents. Kazuko fed the birds. Feeding popcorn to the seagulls. Kenny liked chasing the seagulls around. Grandpa and Kenny watched a ship come in. Kenny was afraid of the loud horn when the bridge went up.
My wife made a new pair of pajamas for our son. I think that they look really cute on him. Kazuko (my wife) took this picture of Kenny (our son) in his new pajamas, while he was watching the Roadrunner on TV. He loves that show. He calls it "Mee Mee."
The most recent Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo has been interesting. After day 10, new Sekiwake Kotooshu leads the field with a 10-0 record, followed closely by Yokozuna Asashoryu at 9-1. I am looking forward to their eventual showdown when the Yokozuna will have a chance to pull-even en route to his attempt at a perfect calendar year (winning every tournament.) I heard that Kotooshu's 10-0 record is the best record in the modern era for a rikishi debuting at his rank. His s...
On public television, there is an often-ran series from the 1970s titled "Good Neighbors". It is a story of a couple, Tom and Barbara Good, who are living a life of self-sufficiency in the suburbs. They do their best to support themselves in their garden. Tom and Barbara are contrasted by their neighbors, the Ledbetters, who are climbers of the social ladder. Beside the occasional minor conflict, both couples get along quite well. After watching bits and pieces of the 28-episode series ov...