horoscopes and blood types

One point about that is different between Japanese and Westerners is that Japanese believe that bloodtypes and personality traits are related. However, in the west, this is not believed by very many people (I want to say no one believes this, but I'm sure that there is someone somewhere who believes it) This article, originally from the now defunct Mangajin magazine.

You may note that Japanese don't worry if the person's blood type is positive or negative. (here's a tutorial if you want to get up to speed) (btw, positive and negative reminds me about this factoid, which is that Japanese call a Phillips screwdriver a 'plus' driver)

Now, if there is a system that is similar to bloodtypes that Westerners believe in is the notion of horoscopes and the study of astrology (the wikipedia entry is very detailed, so don't try to read it all). And, for the Japanese students, horoscopes are a good way to increase your vocabulary because a lot of words that are commonly known and describe personalities, but you may not encounter very often are found in horoscopes. Also, you can get a better idea of whether a word has a negative meaning or a positive meaning. Try some of these sites and see if what they say about you is true.

here
here
here
and here

joyo96.org

Here's something for the exchange students. This site, which sells a lot of things for studying Japanese has the Ice Mocha application that helps you to study kanji. The site may strike you as a bit too commercial, but the Ice Mocha app is quite interested

video blogging!

pic08
Originally uploaded by joe tomei.

Woo-hoo! If this doesn't get you blogging, nothing will. Go to the new videogoogle site and find something interesting. This is a Utada Hikaru video that I like.

My favorite movies

It's difficult to choose three favorite movies. To tell you the truth, I don't have very strong tastes. However, this vacation, I will be watching Yasujiro Ozu's films, something that I have been meaning to do for a long time. Ozu's Tokyo Story （東京物語）is considered one of the best films of all time (it's 7th on this list and 5th in this poll)

I also want to watch Kill Bill Vol. 2, and I will probably watch Kill Bill Vol. 1 again.

Also, I haven't seen Hero yet, but I hope I can get the DVD this Christmas.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

Masumi's post, Thanks In Advance: Shop Till You Drop!!, reminded me that it is time to think about Christmas presents. Unforutnately, if we buy something here, we have to send it this week for it to arrive on time, so we will probably do internet shopping.

How about some blog posts about best presents for Christmas?

Starbucks?

Masumi thinks starbucks the best coffee shop in town. I don't agree. The best place in town for coffee is Timeless. Unfortunately, my daughter Tabatha loves Starbucks, so we always go to starbucks. Maybe I will see you there!