Here’s a short routine we did at one of my recent hip-hop classes. It’s a bit unusual for us to do something that doesn’t involve arm/hand movements like this, but it was a fun little combo.
Please give to the Red Cross to support relief efforts in Japan!
For Japanese readers, the QR code above will tell you what to do. For American readers, go here. (via JapanTrends)
As usual, the New York Times brings us the best multimedia breakdowns for a current event — in this case, what’s gone wrong, so far, at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. (via inothernews)
(via unicornology, foumaigre-)
(Source: brogigayo)
You’re probably all aware by now that a rather large earthquake hit Japan a few moments ago. Just wanted to say that I’m fine. I live on the opposite coast (facing Korea/Russia), so we only felt a fairly minor tremor and we’re not at risk for tsunami. I’m watching the news like a hawk, though, and it’s crazy. My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected. (map reblogged from soupsoup)
Moments that warm the heart:
- Telling a friend over the phone that you’re sick with a cold and her appearing minutes later at your doorstep with a homemade cold remedy of ginger, honey, and lemon.
- Getting birthday cards from people who are oceans away and could easily have just sent an email or posted a facebook message. In this digital age, there is no email or tweet or facebook wall post in the world that—no matter how well-written it is—would not have double the meaningfulness if it was hand-written and sent by snail mail.
- Walking into a junior high classroom to find the above message from the students on the blackboard. I got a great picture of me with the class standing in front of the blackboard, too, but I’m not legally allowed to post it online, so just know that it exists, and it’s adorable.
Got this dish in our school lunch today. Took a bite to discover a flavor and texture I had never tasted before. I consulted our menu to see what it was, and discovered I was eating “kujira-niku”—whale meat.
I’d heard stories from my “sempai” (seniors) of the occasional whale meat school lunch, but was told that they’ve been phasing it out and it was really rare these days. I don’t really know if I should count myself as lucky or unlucky that I got this chance to eat it, but either way, I ate it.
For the curious: it’s not great. You can see the meat is really dark—almost black. It’s similar to beef, but with much less flavor. And it’s VERY tough. It took me quite a while to get through this small amount. The bottom line: once is more than enough times to try whale meat.
About Me
My name is Lawrence Denes.After spending 5 years studying Japanese language, culture, literature, and history in St. Louis and Kyoto, I now live in Japan full-time, in a town that most Japanese people have never even heard of, lost amid the rice fields and vending machines.
Please feel free to ask me anything, or send me an email.
