DS said...

DS at 05:48 PM JST - 26th August

High- Japan's 4x100 track relay team. The happiest bronze medalists I have ever seen!

Low- the fact that China hosted the event. Ham handed security, fake singers, using thousands of soldiers in the open/closing ceremonies, goosestepping with the Olympic flag, using Han chinese in the place of genuine members of…

Posted in What, for you, were the highlights and low points of the Beijing Olympics? at 05:48 PM JST - 26th August
DS at 05:42 PM JST - 26th August

If you live in OZ, then make Japanese your primary family language. You can probably get NHK through satellite television, use YouTube for video, and order books anywhere.

Lots of cities have Japanese schools that are funded by Mombusho for the children of ex-pat Japanese who live abroad. Maybe there…

Posted in Japanese-Brazilian families face serious challenge in communication at 05:42 PM JST - 26th August
DS at 05:39 PM JST - 26th August

I'm not sure how you get this idea that the USA is hated. Canada, Mexico, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Ukraine and France recently ELECTED pro-US leaders. Millions of people try to immigrate there every year. If you went to China or Africa and started handing out Green Cards, do you think…

Posted in Michelle Obama, Kennedy rally Democrats as convention opens at 05:39 PM JST - 26th August
DS at 05:31 PM JST - 26th August

IMHO, it is crucial to provide maximum support and exposure to the minority language. In Japan, that would be English (in my case) or Portuguese (in the case of the lady in the article). That's why we minimize the J-go as much as possible. SkyPerfect is also an awesome tool-…

Posted in Japanese-Brazilian families face serious challenge in communication at 05:31 PM JST - 26th August
DS at 01:03 PM JST - 26th August

I agree with romulus.

In my case, we decided (my wife is Japanese, our son is Canadian born but came to Japan at age 3, I am a typical hakujin) to make English our 'home' language. Whenever the three of us are together, we use English about 90% of the…

Posted in Japanese-Brazilian families face serious challenge in communication at 01:03 PM JST - 26th August
DS at 12:22 AM JST - 24th August

Oh, and for comparison, the US team is;

41,45, 47, 50, 53, 54kg, and 145,150,152, 155, 160, 160 cm tall.

Posted in IOC asks for investigation of China's gymnasts at 12:22 AM JST - 24th August
DS at 12:19 AM JST - 24th August

J-team are 34,37,38,38,38,39 kg, and 140,145, 147, 149, 149, 150 cm.

c-team are 31,32,33,35,36,43 kg, and 137, 140, 142, 145, 150, 152 cm.

No surprise that the ChiComs resorted to cheating. It's a way of life to do so in order to fulfill quotas and curry favor with the Party.

Posted in IOC asks for investigation of China's gymnasts at 12:19 AM JST - 24th August
DS at 09:19 PM JST - 23rd August

The Chinese "women's" team were all kids, just little girls. Seriously, how many 16 year old girls do YOU know that are 142cm tall and weigh 32kg? They must be on some kind of drug to delay the onset of puberty, or they are overtraining so much that their hormonal…

Posted in IOC asks for investigation of China's gymnasts at 09:19 PM JST - 23rd August
DS at 09:12 PM JST - 23rd August

IMHO, J-ball at the high school level concentrates far too much on developing pitchers and not enough on hitters. Hence the slap single then bunt style. It really creates a conservative style of yakyuu. At Koshien, you always hear about the great pitching performances, but not hitting.

And the players…

Posted in U.S. downs Japan for baseball bronze at 09:12 PM JST - 23rd August
DS at 09:13 PM JST - 22nd August

Congrats to Korea for a well deserved win. I was cheering for Japan, but Lee's lads were clearly superior. It was obvious that Hoshino was NOT an inspirational leader. The players were not at their best, he was outmanaged by most other teams.

Having said that, what the Olympics shows…

Posted in South Koreans reach gold-medal game at 09:13 PM JST - 22nd August