This page shows archived posts for Gary J. Wolff's blog from
April-June,
2017.
Enjoy...
Cheers,
Gary
June
25, 2017 - Japanese university English speech contest
This university ESS (English speaking society) holds a recitation
speech contest every June just for college freshmen, where they recite
from memory a famous speech from history, like JFK's 1963 inaugural
address, Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, Steve Jobs'
2005 Stanford commencement address, etc. These kids were truly
phenomenal! And it was my honor to help judge the contest again this
year for the 8th straight year.
June 18,
2017 - Feeling the Wind
One of my greatest pleasures while residing in the planet's most
populous metropolis is cycling up and down the nearby Edogawa riverside
on sunny days.
Yep, I'm the crazy guy who several years ago started the fad in
Japan of wearing ankle weights on my wrists while cycling along the
riverside. Since cycling exercises primarily the lower body, I felt I
needed to spend that time working my biceps and triceps as well.
A few years ago while I was out on my mountain bike, I took a breather
at the "Kaze o Kanjite" (風を感じて, "Feel the Wind") statue in Junsai-ike
Park (じゅんさい池公園) in Matsudo, Chiba (千葉県松戸市). In the pic below, I'm in my
usual attire, sporting 4 kg (~9 lbs) wrist weights on each arm.
And for some reason, this spring so far I've encountered an above
average number of days with fairly strong headwinds. So I'm hearing the
naked statue lady's message loud and clear, as I'm definitely "feeling
the wind"!
"Kaze o Kanjite" (風を感じて, "Feel the Wind") statue
Junsai-ike Park (じゅんさい池公園), Matsudo, Chiba (千葉県松戸市)
June 13,
2017 - New Guinness World
Record for biggest swimsuit parade
This is old news from a June 11, 2010 post, but it was so noteworthy, I
felt it deserved a replay!
To promote its new Gillette Venus razor, parent company Procter and
Gamble assembled 323 Japanese bikini-clad beauties at the Venus Fort
shopping complex in Odaiba, Tokyo to set a new world record.
June 3,
2017 - Fond Memories of My Favorite Japanese Peaks
Just a quick trip down memory lane today, reflecting back on my
quarter-century of climbing Japan's gorgeous peaks. I hope my many
friends will enjoy the 4-minute video below. I chose Enya's "Caribbean
Blue" as the BGM.
I believe the final frame in the video sums it up well: "Can you see
now why I love Japan so much?!"
Cheers,
Wolffman
Fond Memories of My
Favorite Japanese Peaks
(If player above is not visible, you can view video
@ YouTube here.)
June 2,
2017 - Japanese university ESS (English Speaking Society) speech contest
I never cease to be amazed at the ambition of some Japanese university
students who are so passionate in improving their English and public
speaking skills. For the 8th consecutive year, on Sunday, May 21, 2017
I had the pleasure of helping judge a university student English speech
contest sponsored by my university's ESS (English Speaking Society).
These 2nd-year students were truly amazing, sacrificing an entire day
to give by memory in front of 100 people a 7-min. speech which they
composed themselves.
May
28, 2017 -
Tokyo Eco-Toilet, Edogawa River
This totally self-sufficient eco-toilet along the Edogawa
jogging/cycling path in Tokyo is powered by wind and solar energy, and
collects rainwater from the roof for the toilets. Furthermore, it is
covered by
greenery to reduce heat absorption. Click below to view my 3 min.
narrated video...
Tokyo Eco-Toilet,
Edogawa River
(If player above is not visible, you can view video
@ YouTube here.)
Tokyo Eco-Toilet, Edogawa River
May
23, 2017 - Japanese man oldest person to scale world's tallest peak
Four years ago today, Yuichiro Miura (三浦 雄一郎), an 80-year-old Japanese
mountaineer, became the oldest person to reach the top of the 29,035-ft
(8,848-m) Mount Everest at 9:05 a.m. local time (just after noon in
Japan).
Miura also conquered the planet's highest peak when he was 70 and 75.
In the photo below, Miura, right, poses with his 43-yr-old son Gota at
the C4 camp (elev. 26,247 ft) en route to the summit.
A noted veteran adventurer, Miura became famous when he was a young man
as a daredevil speed skier. He came to worldwide attention in 1970 when
he became the first person to ski down Everest. The feat was captured
in the Oscar-winning 1975 documentary, "The Man Who Skied Down
Everest." He has also skied down Mount Fuji.
Miura has since skied down the highest mountains on each of the 7
continents, following the tradition of his late father Keizo, who skied
down Europe's Mont Blanc at the age of 99.
Miura conquered Mt. Everest despite undergoing heart surgery in January
2013 for an irregular heartbeat, his 4th heart operation since 2007.
Yuichiro Miura, right, poses with his 43-yr-old son Gota
at the C4 Mt. Everest camp
May
19, 2017 - Australia's jacaranda trees
I'm in LOVE with Australia's jacaranda trees, which bloom in October
(springtime in the southern hemisphere), which were introduced to me by
one of my foreign exchange students from Brisbane who shared this
remarkable story: https://www.garyjwolff.com/jacaranda.html
I first visited this beautiful wisteria festival about 20 years ago,
but I'd forgotten how stunningly gorgeous the wisteria flowers actually
are. Some strands of wisteria blossoms I'm guesstimating were at least
10 feet (~3m) long.
It was a wonderful experience, in spite of the hoardes of people on a
picture-perfect Golden Week national holiday. If you're in Tokyo, the
wisteria festival this year runs through Sunday, May 7th.
Wisteria Festival (藤まつり) at Kameido Tenjin Shrine (亀戸天神社)
April
29, 2017 - Rainbow Cycle Monorail (レインボーサイクルモノレール)
This is just one of the million reasons why I love Japan, where I
routinely stumble unexpectedly upon something really cool, and which I
would likely never, ever see in my own home country...
Rainbow Cycle Monorail (レインボーサイクルモノレール)
(If player above is not visible, you can view video
@ YouTube here.)
This Saturday, June 16, 2007 adventure with one of my coworkers was,
without question, one of the most awesome fishing trips I've ever been
on. The water and sky that day were the most stunningly beautiful shade
of blue I've ever seen..... ANYWHERE, EVER.
One of the highlights of the day was catching the most amazing Japanese
fish with butterfly wings shown below, but it touched my soul in such a
profound way, I decided to release it back into the Big Blue Pond.
Click open the 25-photo
album to check out the breathtaking view of Mt. Fuji and other pics
of Tokyo Bay's beautiful blue water.
My Miura Kaigan "butterfly fish"
(In Japanese, it's called a hōbō (魴鮄), or red gurnard in English)
April
22, 2017
- MAXINE'S UNIVERSAL LAWS OF NATURE:
Maxine
1. Law of Gravity - Any tool, nut, bolt, or screw, when dropped, will
roll to the least accessible corner.
2. Law of Probability - The probability of being watched is directly
proportional to the stupidity of your act.
3. Law of Random Numbers - If you dial a wrong number, you never get a
busy signal and someone always answers.
4. Law of Mechanical Repair - After your hands become coated with
grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to pee.
5. Variation Law - If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you
were in will always move faster than the one you are in now (works
every time).
6. Law of the Bath - When the body is fully immersed in water, the
telephone rings.
7. Law of Close Encounters - The probability of meeting someone you
know increases dramatically when you are with someone you don't want to
be seen with.
8. Law of the Result - When you try to prove to someone that a machine
won't work, it will.
9. Law of Biomechanics - The severity of the itch is inversely
proportional to the reach.
10. Law of the Theater & Hockey Arena - At any event, the
people whose seats are farthest from the aisle, always arrive last.
They are the ones who will leave their seats several times to go for
food, beer, or the toilet and who leave early before the end of the
performance or the game is over. The folks in the aisle seats come
early, never move once, have long gangly legs or big bellies and stay
to the bitter end of the performance. The aisle people also are very
surly folk.
11. The Coffee Law - As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee,
your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee
is cold.
12. Murphy's Law of Lockers - If there are only 2 people in a locker
room, they will have adjacent lockers.
13. Law of Physical Surfaces - The chances of an open-faced jelly
sandwich landing face down on a floor, are directly correlated to the
newness and cost of the carpet or rug.
14. Law of Logical Argument - Anything is possible if you don't know
what you are talking about.
15. Brown's Law of Physical Appearance - If the clothes fit, they're
ugly.
16. Oliver's Law of Public Speaking - A closed mouth gathers no feet.
17. Wilson's Law of Commercial Marketing Strategy - As soon as you find
a product that you really like, they will stop making it (especially in
Japan!).
18. Doctor's Law - If you don't feel well and make an appointment to go
to the doctor, by the time you get there you'll feel better. But if you
don't make an appointment, you'll stay sick.
April
13, 2017 - 2017 Tokyo Cherry Blossoms
Even after 26 years, I don't think I'll ever tire of the gorgeous
Japanese cherry blossoms.
2017 Tokyo Cherry Blossoms
(If player above is not visible, you can view video
@ YouTube here.)
The cherry blossoms normally peak in Tokyo around the beginning of
April, when both the school year and business year begin in Japan, and
so are symbolic of a fresh start. And from the time the blossoms first
open until they start falling off the tree, they rarely last for more
than 2 weeks, representing the fragility and shortness of life. Now you
see them, now you don't.
And by far one the most stunning aspects of their demise, is the
remarkable way the cherry blossoms fall off the tree and get blown
around in the breeze, resembling a snowstorm. So it is no big surprise
that the Japanese refer to this phenomenon as "sakurafubuki" (桜吹雪,
cherry blossom blizzard).
[If you have time, you can watch 8 more videos of the amazing Tokyo
cherry blossoms I've taken thru the years, including some cherry
blossom blizzards and the stunning Chidorigafuchi nighttime lightup, in
my new "Tokyo Cherry Blossoms" playlist at YouTube.]
April 8,
2017 - Japanese
playground slide with rollers
I want to be a kid again!!
It looks FUN! I wanted to try it, but I guess I'm too big.
[Just after I stopped filming, I saw a dad sliding down with his kid.]
Japanese playground slide with rollers
(If player above is not visible, you can view video
@ YouTube here.)
April 5,
2017 - Japanese
"high-jumper" (ハイジャンパー）
This interesting piece of Japanese playground equipment is known as a
"high-jumper" (ハイジャンパー), to measure how high you can jump up and
touch. The little numbers range from 210-280 & indicate height
in cm, e.g. the red "225" represents 2.25 m (~7 ft. 5 in.). Only in
Japan...
Japanese
"high-jumper" (ハイジャンパー）
April
1, 2017 - Japanese bicycle escalator in Tokyo - ONLY in Japan!!
This bicycle escalator starts from the basement bicycle parking garage
in the 45-story i-Link Tower near JR Ichikawa Station.
No, this is NOT an April Fool's joke!
Japanese bicycle escalator in Tokyo
(If player above is not visible, you can view video
@ YouTube here.)
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