Link to Oxford Level 4 Books

Hi Everyone.  Hope you are staying cool.  Here is the link to the Oxford Level 4 books.  There are over 60 titles, so please have a good look and choose something everyone might enjoy.

http://elt.oup.com/catalogue/items/global/graded_readers/oxford_bookworms_library/stage_4/?cc=global&selLanguage=en&mode=hub

Lang-8 rediscovered

Want to improve your English? I just went and tried again the Lang-8 website.  It  is a great free resource for language learning.  On it you write journals or diaries or anything you want to write in English, then you post it for others to read.  Native speakers will read your postings and correct your mistakes.  The site is free, but they do kind of expect you to help other people.  What does that mean?  Well, you would read things that people studying Japanese wrote and then correct them to help those people improve their Japanese.  It's free and when I tried it today, by the time I had gone and corrected a Japanese person's writing, three Japanese people had gone and corrected my Japanese post.  It was really great to see my mistakes and most of them I could understand right away.  So I really recommend you try it! lang-8.com

This cat kills me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03kZSHR2U-A&feature=relmfu

What is it about boxes that make cats crazy?  If you like this video there are many with Maru in them on Youtube.  If you have a cat does he or she also like boxes?

If you have a chance to study English with this teacher....DON'T!

Hi, everyone found this on youtube.  Some of you may have seen this originally on TV, but I think it is funny enough to post again.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S8JeCS3P6w  If you watch it, let me know what you think of this teacher.  Should I copy his methods?

Meloday Gardot is back!

Melody Gardot, the singer from my hometown that I introduced to you last year, is back with a new bossa nova inspired album.  While I haven't heard the whole album, this is the video and first single released off of it.  Sounds pretty good to me!  Filmed on location in Brazil.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6X9uq05H74&ob=av2e

Open an Izakaya in your garden (or maybe 3 or 4)!

All last week I watched as my marigolds were slowly being eaten down to stems.  This surprised me as I had planted them around my tomatoes, basil and shiso to keep other garden pests away.  While those plants seemed fine, something obviously was eating my marigolds to death.  A little research on the internet found that it was slugs (なめくじ） that were the culprits.  It seems while marigolds repel many harmful insects, slugs find them to be utterly delicious!  So I decided to open an izakaya.  Yes, that's right, actually 4 of them in my garden.  I found 4 small, shallow dishes (you can use jar lids or flower pot bottoms too) put them in the ground so the edges were at ground level.  Then I filled them with the cheapest はっぽうしゅ　I could find.  This morning they each have quite a few drowned slugs and pill bugs (まるむし) in them.  I'll let them go tonight again and then empty them and refill them before tomorrow night.  I also found out you can use non-alcoholic beer (even cheaper!) as the slugs are attracted to the yeast and sugars.   
3 June 12
Have been using non alcoholic beer with the same success as regular beer.  Even found a 99 yen imported one at the local supermarket that is all I am using now!  Hope to be slug free in another week or so.  

Shiso Pesto for a happy and flavorful summer!

Some people in the afternoon class and I were talking about this, and with summer fast approaching and the shiso growing, here is the recipe for shiso pesto.  Once you have all the ingredients, it takes only minutes to make and tastes amazing!  I find that while it is good the first day, it seems to get better the longer the flavors have time to meld together.  Oh, almost forgot to give credit, the recipe is from Miyoko Nishimoto-Schinner's Japanese Cooking, Contemporary and Traditional.  It's a vegan Japanese cookbook that has helped me immensely!

about 100 shiso leaves
1 cup extra virgin olive oil (this is an American cup, so you may need to add a little more if using a Japanese cup)
2 to 3 cloves of garlic (depending on your taste)
1/2 cup of pine nuts (see not above about olive oil)
2 to 3 tablespoons mild miso (I've used all types and it has always turned out good)
2 teaspoons umeboshi paste

Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, you can leave it a little chunkier if you like it that way.  Toss the pesto with hot pasta.  The amount is according to your taste.  I start with about a tablespoon or 2 to an individual bowl of pasta, and then taste to decide if I want to add more.  Also this pesto is excellent on tofu, if you want a new twist on your hiya-yakko!  Hope you try and enjoy!  If you do let us know how it turned out for you.