ANMI English Tips & Tools: 2010

2010-12-31

JPod Word of the Day - Cake

Although the original purpose of the Nonnative Nihongo Blog is for studying Japanese, I thought that some of the references would also be of used to English language learners, too:

Phrases related to the word "cake": http://bit.ly/fAjQWH

Named After

Today's English tip is:

something is/was named after something/someone

～の名前が付けられる
～にちなんで名付けられた
～の名を取って名付けられた
～名物にちなんでいます
～の名をとって命名されている
～にちなんで名づけられました

Here are some examples:

The Toyota Motor Corporation was named after its founder, Sakichi Toyoda.
Adobe is named after a creek behind the founder’s house, called Adobe Creek.
Honda Motors was named after its founder, Soichiro Honda.
The Richter scale is named after its inventor, Charles F. Richter.
The Eiffel Tower is named after its designer, the French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel.
Curium is named after Marie Currie.
The Ferris wheel was named after an American engineer, George Washington Gale Ferris.
Washington D.C. is named after the first U.S. president, George Washington.
The state of Utah is named after the local native Americans, the Ute tribe.

References:

Disclaimer

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

ANMI English Tips and Tools by Chip Sorensen
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Japan License.
Based on a work at anmienglishtools.blogspot.com.

アンミ英会話教室
２３４－００５３神奈川県横浜市港南区日野中央２－６－３パークサイド日野１０２号
http://www.anmi-eikaiwa.com/ | support@anmi-eikaiwa.com
Tel. 045-841-4218 | Fax 045-841-4288
携帯リンク http://www.anmiweb.com/mobile/

2010-12-30

Phonics Practice for the "ingk" Pronunciation

Practice words for the ĭngk pronunciation.

blink（目をぱちくりする）
drink（飲む）
link（つなぎ・リンク）
mink（ミンク）
pink (ピンク）
shrink（小さくなる）
sink（沈む・流し・洗面台）
slink（こそこそ歩く）
stink（いやな匂いがする）
think（考える・思う）
wink（ウインク）

Reference(s):

新和英大辞典　第5版 ― 並装

Disclaimer

ANMI English Tips and Tools by Chip Sorensen
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Japan License.
Based on a work at anmienglishtools.blogspot.com.

2010-11-16

Student's mom gave a bag of black licorice that her husband bought overseas for the kids. The kids hate it. Lucky for me, I still love it!

2010-08-22

More Free Style Guides and Manuals

This is an update to a recent post dated June 10, 2010

1. Reuters: online and has downloadable pdf
- http://handbook.reuters.com/index.php/Main_Page
- http://handbook.reuters.com/extensions/docs/pdf/handbookofjournalism.pdf

2. National Geographic Style Manual: online only
- http://stylemanual.ngs.org/intranet/styleman.nsf

3. Online Stylebooks.com: online only
- http://www.onlinestylebooks.com/

4. SI Style Guide: online and pdf
- http://www.nist.gov/physlab/pubs/sp811/index.cfm
- http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/pdf/sp811.pdf

* The International System of Units, universally abbreviated SI (from the French Le Système International d’Unités), is the modern metric system of measurement.

ANMI English Tips and Tools by Chip Sorensen
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Japan License.
Based on a work at anmienglishtools.blogspot.com.

2010-08-12

ピンキリ

How do you say, "ピンキリ" in English?

The term, "ピンキリ" comes from the phrase, "ピンからキリまで," which can be roughly translated as, "the best and the worst; the top and the bottom; there are many different kinds of [something] and the [what] ranges from the superb/expensive/etc. to the terrible/cheap/etc."

In today's class, we were talking about the prices of opal jewelry sold in Australia. I asked the student if opal jewelry was expensive? She said that the prices range from cheap to expensive depending on the size and quality of the opal jewelery itself (オパールの値段はピンキリです。)

In English, be sure to explain clearly what is ピンキリ. You need to tell what is being described:

prices range from cheap to expensive
quality ranges from poorly made to high quality

In English, we can apply this pattern to a much wider range of subjects:

His jokes range from really stupid to extremely funny.
There are all kinds of professors at my college from boring to intellectually stimulating.
TV commercials can be anything from bewildering to entertaining.

If you have any other ideas on how to apply the concept of ピンキリ to an English sentence, please feel free to ask me in class!

Disclaimer

ANMI English Tips and Tools by Chip Sorensen
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Japan License.
Based on a work at anmienglishtools.blogspot.com.

2010-06-10

Useful Online Dictionaries Translation Sites

1. 英辞郎 on the WEB
- http://www.alc.co.jp/index.html

2. OneLook Reverse Dictionary
- http://www.onelook.com/reverse-dictionary.shtml

3. Yahoo 辞書（国語・類語・英和・和英辞書、新語探検、百科事典、用語集から検索）
- http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/

4. ジム・ブリーンのWWWJDIC辞書
- http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?9T

5. Answers.com (Mobile Version -- No ads)
- http://www.answers.com/

6. Online Style Books (Indexed)
- http://www.onlinestylebooks.com/

7. 株式会社グローヴァ
- http://trans.glova.jp/

Disclaimer

ANMI English Tips and Tools by Chip Sorensen
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Japan License.
Based on a work at anmienglishtools.blogspot.com.

Extra Class Notes

1. rushed to the train (一気に電車に殺到する)
例: Everybody rushed for the door. (誰もがドアに向けて殺到した。)

2. She was scared. (彼女は怖かった。) ≠ She was scary. (彼女は怖がっているようだった。)
例: The movie was good but scary. (いい映画だったけど怖かったよ。)
例: I was too scared to see the whole movie alone. (怖いから一人では映画の全部は見られなかった。)

3. Hang in there! (頑張って！)【意味: 挫けないとする；諦めない；勇気を出す；頑張る；粘る】
4. Good luck! (頑張って！)【意味: 成功を祈ります；万事うまく行きますように】

References:
1. Kodansha's Furigana Japanese Dictionary
2. ジーニアス英和大辞典
3. CASIO Ex-word 電子辞書 XD-A10000

Disclaimer

ANMI English Tips and Tools by Chip Sorensen
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Japan License.
Based on a work at anmienglishtools.blogspot.com.

2010-05-25

More Ohana

Spring flowers in Fujisawa :-) on Twitpic

Spring flowers in Fujisawa :-) http://ping.fm/93lXy

2010-05-12

Ohana

Heading back to classroom fm Fujisawa. Beautiful weather! on Twitpic

Heading back to classroom fm Fujisawa. Beautiful weather! http://ping.fm/au7PV

2010-05-08

Mothers Day Japan

日本の母の日も長い歴史ありそうです: http://bit.ly/dnzmNS

Mothers Day

In 1914, The U.S. Congress passed a law, which President Wilson signed on May 8, 1914, designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.

2010-05-05

Golden Week

Golden Week is almost over. Hope all my students have made good memories. Please be careful driving home!!

2010-05-04

VOA: Green Auction Benefits Green Causes

Original Article:
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Tax-In-The-Bag-84472552.html

I have corrected the transcript. Here is the corrected version:

WARD: The Anacostia River is filthy. Litter adorns its shores and plastic bags swim in its current. Known as Washington D.C.'s "Forgotten River," it flows from Maryland to the U.S. Capitol finally merging into the larger, better known, Potomac River. Trash from there can eventually end up in the ocean. Brent Bolin is with the the Anacostia Watershed Society. He believes the new bag fee instituted in Washington will help clean up the city and the Anacostia.

BOLIN: Metropolitan Washington Council governments did a trash survey throughout the Anacostia. They found that around 33 percent of the the trash that they recovered out of--so twelve--around twelve thousand out of thirty-six thousand items that they recovered were plastic bags.

WARD: The five-cent fee applies to any bag--large or small, plastic or paper--at all retail outlets. You can avoid the fee if you remember to bring your own bag.

SHOPPER: "It's unfortunate that we didn't bring enough today, so we had to pay for our five extra bags. That's OK. That's OK. Next time we'll know better. We'll just keep them in the car."

WARD: Steve McKinley-Ward volunteers to help clean up an experimental trash trap on a small tributary of the Anacostia. He owes the excess garbage to simply bad behavior.

MCKINLEY-WARD: It's litterbugs. It's absolutely litterbugs just throwing their stuff out dropping right on the street or sidewalk. And the action of a heavy rain will just get that stuff mobile, floating, and all the water goes to one place--little storm drain inlet port right at the edge of the curb--goes under there--this goes with it. That's where all this stuff comes from. It's litter, the product of litterbugs.

WARD: At this grocery store in northwest Washington, the new bag fee has met with little resistance; that according to store manager Jack Eaton.

EATON: It was a very popular move on our part, and I think that it was really is pushing that issue and it's getting everybody involved, so all that trash--all that litter that--it just blows in the wind. Should,we should see a pretty immediate effect of that.

WARD: Grocery stores in Washington were at first were opposed to the idea of a bag fee thinking they'd lose business to retail stores in nearby Virginia or Maryland. The Giant Food has now joined forces with the Anacostia Watershed Society and gave away about a quarter of a million reusable bags to their Washington customers.

EATON: We packed everybody's orders in these reusable bags to help the customer get acclimated to the new bag tax and try to lessen the uh shock to their system. It was well received. We had numerous positive comments on it.

WARD: But not everyone is OK with the new bag fee. This shopper says any additional fee is hard on the elderly.

SHOPPER: You have to remember to get your tote bags and your plastic bags because they're five cents each. I think it's ridiculous.

WARD: Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform shares that sentiment calling the bag fee just another tax on consumers.

NORQUIST: The politicians want to have a tax on bags. The fact that they want to try and call it a fee tells you that they're liars as well as tax increasers.

WARD: Bag fee or bag tax--it still costs the same five cents. But the Anacostia Watershed Society says the goal is not to make money--it's to change behavior. Although the city expects to make three or four million dollars this year to help clean up the Anacostia, the hope is that eventually there will be fewer bags, less trash, and a cleaner environment. I'm VOA's Rebecca Ward for Going Green.

2010-04-28

Okinawa

One of my favorite FB pages. Beautiful pix of Okinawa! http://is.gd/bLhrV http://ping.fm/RNpsz

2010-04-27

Eijiro on the Web

英辞郎 on the WebのiPhoneアップをダウンロードしました。とても良いかも！ And it's free!

Classroom

教室をちょっと変更しました。どうかな? I made a small change to the classroom. Hope our students don't mind. http://ping.fm/IZ7GS

2010-04-22

World's Oldest Barber

Corrected Transcript:

Many adults continue working long after other people have retired. One example is 99-year-old Antonio Mancinelli of New York State. The Guinness Book of World Records calls him the world's oldest barber.

ANTONIO MANCINELLI: You see all these people. You cut their hair for years, and you want to keep going. I don't. I have no way of thinking that I am going to retire. I am not retiring. I'm just, keep on going until the end.

Mancinelli has been cutting hair since he was 12 years old. In the 1920s, some barbers did more than cut hair. They offered other services and treatments.

ANTONIO MANCINELLI: I used to use leeches. People used to come in there. They had high blood pressure, and I used to put a leech on them to take some of the blood away. And they felt, they said they felt better.

Mancinelli says he removed growths on skin with a heated pin, and performed the ancient art of cupping to treat pain. Now, he just gives haircuts. His customers are pleased.

CUSTOMER: Great barber. He doesn't use the clippers. You get a haircut with scissors. It's much better.

Mancinelli says people keep him going.

ANTONIO MANCINELLI: We had one fellow come in here, in fact. He came in and says, "Anthony, you don't remember me. You used to cut my hair when I was a baby."

Mancinelli has lived longer than many of his customers. He worked seven days a week for 40 years. And he can still cut hair for 25 people in one day. I'm Jim Tedder.

Answer the following questions:

Do all adults quit working after they reach retirement age?
What makes Antonio Mancinelli unique?
When will Mancinelli stop working?
Do you think Mancinelli went to a trade school to become a barber? Why or why not?
What is different between barbers of the 1920s and barbers of today? What is the same?
Have you ever heard of cupping? What other ancient arts are still used to treat pain?
Why does the customer in the video like getting his hair cut by Mancinelli?
What motivates Mancinelli to work so hard? What motivates you to work hard?
What might be a possible downside of getting to know your customers on a personal level?

Disclaimer

ANMI English Tips and Tools by Chip Sorensen
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Japan License.
Based on a work at anmienglishtools.blogspot.com.

2010-04-21

Sometime vs. Sometimes

Whats the difference between "sometimes" and "sometime"?

Definitions:

sometimes

[adverb] at times; now and then.
[副詞] 時には、時々、たまに。

sometime

[adverb] At an indefinite or unstated time. At an indefinite time in the future.
[副詞] いつか、そのうち、いずれ(は)、近々に。

Examples:

sometimes

I sometimes write a letter to my grandma. (時々おばあちゃんに手紙を書きます.)
Sometimes our dad cooks dinner for us. (父は時々夕食を作ってくれます.)
I sometimes take a walk in the park. (私は時々公園を散歩します.)

sometime

Come and see us us sometime next weekend. (来週末のいつか遊びにいらっしゃい.)
They will get married sometime. (彼らはやがてそのうち結婚するだろう.)
Please visit us sometime when you aren't busy. (忙しくないときにいつかお訪ね下さい.)

Do you have any other examples that you can think of? Please let me know in class, send me an email, post a comment via Facebook or Twitter, or leave a comment below!

References:
||||

Disclaimer

ANMI English Tips and Tools by Chip Sorensen
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Japan License.
Based on a work at anmienglishtools.blogspot.com.

2010-04-16

Ape

How would you like to have this ape staring at you every morning when you opened your apartment curtains in the morning? Do you know what tacky means? What about eyesore?

I am glad that there are no tacky apes or similar eyesores in my neighborhood!

tacky (形容詞)：　品のない、俗っぽい、みすぼらしい、うすぎたない

例： That ape on top of the pachinko parlor is quite tacky.

eyesore (名詞)：　いやな[目ざわりな、見苦しい]物[建物]

例： That ape on top of the pachinko parlor is a real eyesore!

Disclaimer

ANMI English Tips and Tools by Chip Sorensen
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Japan License.
Based on a work at anmienglishtools.blogspot.com.

2010-04-07

Just Do It

Great advice! "Just do it" while you're young! RT @rikism: やりたい仕事がなければ作ればいいんだ。(Via Twitter)

Perfect Sense

The following phrase came up in one of today's classes:

"It makes perfect sense to me."

Do you understand what this means? Does it make perfect sense to you? (完全に意味を理解しますか？)

Definitions:

make sense:

意味をなす；　なるほどと思える；　道理にかなう；　意味を理解する；　それなら分かる

make perfect sense:

完全に筋が通る；　完全に意味を理解する；　それなら完全に分かる

to me:

私にとって；　私にとっては；　私には

Example Sentences:

"It makes perfect sense to me."

なるほどそれはもっともなことです。

"It makes a lot of sense to me."

それはなかなか納得のいく話です。

Real-World Examples:

And when you think about it, that makes perfect sense.

Tough for 40-Something New Moms. By Dana Wood, Special to CNN (link)

Brompton child seat makes perfect sense for bicycle commuters.

ETA Services Ltd. (link)

Sample Dialog:

Chip: We missed you in class last week..
Student: Sorry about that. It was the end of the month, so I was busy with some accounting work.
Chip: Oh, I see. That makes perfect sense.

Disclaimer

ANMI English Tips and Tools by Chip Sorensen
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Japan License.
Based on a work at anmienglishtools.blogspot.com.

2010-04-05

Constitution and Specifications

Posted a blog entry regarding a strange translation of "構成および仕様"at my Engineering in English blog:

Constitution and Specifications

Disclaimer

ANMI English Tips and Tools by Chip Sorensen
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Japan License.
Based on a work at anmienglishtools.blogspot.com.

2010-03-31

Having Fun

Today's tip is regarding the expression of ～楽しかった in English.

Today's example is courtesy of Ms. H.K. (小学校６年生):

「映画、お買いもの、プリクラが楽しかったです.」

Vocabulary:

映画: a movie, the movies
お買いもの: shopping
プリクラ: print-club pictures; print-club photo booths; a photo sticker; a photo sticker machine; "Print Club"
楽しかった: was fun; enjoyed

Our student originally wanted to say:

"We went to movie, shopping, and a photo sticker machine."

I suggested the following:

"We went to a movie, enjoyed shopping, and took some pictures in a print-club photo booth."
"We enjoyed a movie, went shopping, and took some print-club pictures at an arcade.
"We went and saw a movie, had fun shopping, and took our pictures in a print-club photo booth."
"We had fun watching a movie, enjoying shopping, and taking our picture in a print-club photo booth."

Note: Try to use a gerund or verb for each activity!

References:

Disclaimer

ANMI English Tips and Tools by Chip Sorensen
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Japan License.
Based on a work at anmienglishtools.blogspot.com.

2010-03-30

Chill Pill

In one of today's classes, a slang term came up:

Take a chill pill!
落ち着け！

We use this phrase to tell someone to calm down. Be careful though, don't use this phrase with a superior colleague, like a 先輩, or with your spouse!

References:

Disclaimer

ANMI English Tips and Tools by Chip Sorensen
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.1 Japan License.
Based on a work at anmienglishtools.blogspot.com.

2010-03-29

Twitter and Japanese

Twitterで日本語を学ぶサイトないのかな〜？

2010-03-18

New Reservation Request Forms

We have updated our website with two new pages. One is for visitors who want to reserve a free trial lesson and the other is for current students who want to reserve a class.

Visitors who want to reserve a free trial lesson can do so as follows:

1. Go to the スケジュール page and find a class time and date that is available.
2. Click 予約可能・申込先 and a new browser window will open.
3. Provide your contact information and desire type of free-trial lesson and click Submit at the bottom.
4. We will confirm your reservation request by email within 24 hours.

Current students who want to reserve a class can use a simpler form:

1. Go to the スケジュール page and find a class time and date that is available.
2. Then, go to the 予約・変更のお申し込み page and click Current-Student Reservation Request Form.
3. A new browser window will open where you can submit your reservation request. Click Submit when done.
4. We will confirm your reservation request by email or directly from the Google calendar within 24 hours.

Feel free to ask me any questions or make some suggestions when we meet in class regarding these new procedures.

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.1 Japan License.

アンミ英会話教室
２３４－００５３神奈川県横浜市港南区日野中央２－６－３
パークサイド日野１０２号
http://www.anmi-eikaiwa.com/ | support@anmi-eikaiwa.com
Tel. 045-841-4218 | Fax 045-841-4288
携帯リンク http://www.anmiweb.com/mobile/

2010-01-22

Some - Singular or Plural

The word some can be translated as: いくらか(の), いくつか(の), 多少(の), 何人[個, 件 etc.]かの.¹
Therefore, Japanese writers tend to use a plural verb with some. However, native English speakers also make mistakes with this word because some can take a singular verb or a plural verb depending on the noun it modifies and the context of usage. Here are some examples:

Some fruit is rotten
Some apples are rotten.

Some coffee is expensive.
Some brands of coffee are expensive.

Some water was on the table.
Some cups of water were on the table.

My hair is gray.
Some hairs are gray.

Some advice is useful.
Some pieces of advice are useful.

Some of the students were sick.
Some of the class was sick.

Some cake was eaten.
Some cookies were eaten.

Some piece is missing.
Some pieces are missing.

Do these examples help you understand the correct usage? If you have any questions, leave a comment below, send me an email, or just ask me in class!

Further Reading:

The Guide to Grammar and Writing by the Capital Community College Foundation
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/sv_agr.htm

1. CD-ビジネス技術実用英語大辞典英和・和英/用例・文例第4版

Disclaimer

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.1 Japan License.

アンミ英会話教室
２３４－００５３神奈川県横浜市港南区日野中央２－６－３
パークサイド日野１０２号
http://www.anmi-eikaiwa.com/ | support@anmi-eikaiwa.com
Tel. 045-841-4218 | Fax 045-841-4288
携帯リンク http://www.anmiweb.com/mobile/

2010-01-20

Purdue Online Writing Lab Tips: Use Titles with Surnames

"Titles are used only with family names. Some people will mistakenly apply a title to a given name (for example, “Ms. Nancy” for a graduate student named Nancy Krajenski). Addressing someone this way comes across as unusual, and even as a bit of a joke. Instead, use only family names (“last names”) with titles (“Ms. Krajenski”)."

The same goes for your own name in a formal self introduction, for example:

◎　My name is Chip Sorensen.
◎　My name is Mr. Sorensen.
×　My name is Mr. Chip.
×　My name is Sorensen.

Remember, when writing or speaking, if you only use your last name, then you should use Mr., Mrs., or Ms. with your last name--even when you are talking about yourself. If your last name is also your nickname, then you could say, "Hi. I'm Mr. Suzuki. Please just call me Suzuki."

Note: There are groups of people who often use only a last name without Mr., Mrs., or Ms.: military personnel (soldiers, sailors, etc.), police officers, prisoners, prison guards, sports coaches, fellow sports team players, mean bosses in an office, and many more.

Another note: [Mr./Mrs./Ms. + Name] does NOT equal [Name + ちゃん・くん・君・さん・様・等]. We use the the title INSTEAD of the first name.

Online Writing Lab
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana U.S.A.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/684/1

Disclaimer

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.1 Japan License.

アンミ英会話教室
２３４－００５３神奈川県横浜市港南区日野中央２－６－３
パークサイド日野１０２号
http://www.anmi-eikaiwa.com/ | support@anmi-eikaiwa.com
Tel. 045-841-4218 | Fax 045-841-4288
携帯リンク http://www.anmiweb.com/mobile/

2010-01-19

Apple and American Red Cross Accepting Haiti Relief Donations thru iTunes

Sadly, the news coverage of the Haiti earthquake has been miniscule in Japan. Conversely, coverage of the disaster has been quite extensive on a daily basis in the States. I wonder why the disparity?

For those of us who live in Japan, we can now send donations via the iTunes store in amounts of Y500, Y1,000, Y2,500, Y5,000, Y10,000, and Y20,000.

The donation will be charged to the credit card that you have registered with your iTunes Store account. Your donation will be sent to the American Red Cross. Rest assured that the American Red Cross is a reputable organization that you can trust. If you haven't already, I encourage all my friends, students, and colleagues in Japan to donate.

More information in Japanese is available at these links:

iTunes Storeでハイチ地震救援募金受付：
https://buy.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/buyCharityGiftWizard

広田稔／ASCII.jp編集部：
http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/490/490581/

ハイチ大地震に便乗したオンライン詐欺、シマンテックが注意喚起
http://internet.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/20100115_342594.html

ヤフーやニフティなど、ハイチ地震の被災者への募金を受け付け
http://internet.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/20100115_342613.html

ハイチ地震救援金
http://volunteer.yahoo.co.jp/donation/detail/1301013/index.html

ハイチ大地震被害の救援金を受付けます
http://www.jrc.or.jp/contribution/l3/Vcms3_00001446.html

2010-01-03

Blue Moon

Tonight's moon is once in a blue moon! Do you know why? (Hint: it's very uncommon--no it's not blue!) Ask me about this phrase in class!