May, 2010

Saturday, May the 1st, 2010

It is fine. Very fine this morning.

I'm waiting for the train at Mozu Station, feeling the warm sun shine. The winter has gone, and, with the warm sun shine and winds, the summer is coming. Then, where has the spring gone?

The Study-Support divides the students into 4 groups; the Group 1, High Study Performance with Low Study Habit; Group 2, Low Study Performance with Low Study Habit; Group 3, High Study Performance with High Study Habit; Group 4, Low Study Performance with High Study Habit. The demographic shift is easy to follow, but is just the amassment of individual personal performances and behaviors, while each student's performance and behavior is the accumulation of daily perspiration.

Sunday, May the 2nd, 2010

The Decoding Abeno & Sumiyoshi Area Initiative might be a good naming for the project, although it might sound a little bit nerdy and unfashionable when abbreviated.

Thank You (or 390) lunch boxes have gone, and I bought the 420 one. The Engel's coefficient might rise for 7.7%.

Monday, May the 3rd, 2010

An off day after 7 days is a holiday, Constitution Day. Or should it be called Constitution Memorial Day, because the constitution has long been forgotten in all but name.

Tuesday, May the 4th, 2010

The supply and demand for minor pilgrimages can be seen. Petit sightseers are hanging around with brochures in their hands in my neighborhood. They might have escaped from the overcrowded “holy places” such as those of Sakamoto Ryoma.

Wednesday, May the 5th, 2010

The greatest major pilgrimages this year are those bound for the “holy places” concerning Sakamoto Ryoma, as NHK's saga drama covers him for a year. However, I found some petit sightseers hanging around in front of the neighboring ancient tomb mound with brochures in their hands. Some need grand tourism, while some others just need petit sightseeing. In any case, holy places and their pilgrimage should be supplied to answer the demand. The pilgrimage implies the pilgrims' ways, Eucharistic food, sacramental goods, and, sometimes, even imarets.

What is the holiness? To be a holy place which attracts holiday makers, a neighborhood should have certain holiness.

Thursday, May the 6th, 2010

Misty feelings. Choked with the humid. The first class day after the Golden Week starts with a cloudy morning. Having been invaded by yellow sand for a couple of days, the windows of the tram are dusted over. Even the air seems to have gathered dust.

On my way back home, I'm taking a tram at dusk. In the dusk, I can hardly find the dust. At night, from distance, under a hat, we can hardly find foulness.

Eki-naka, or in-station, style sounds suitable to me. Purchasing lunch in a station is more convenient than out of the station.

Friday, May the 7th, 2010

It started raining as I started drying washings, if that can be called drying. It is raining somewhat outside the tram on my way to school. As I took 6:56 train at Mozzu Station, the train and the tram are not so much crowded. However, the rapid train from Sakai-shi Station was ridiculously packed with commuters, as it goes through to Osaka Station. The rapid train after the 7:06 one at Mozu was much better, not so much crowded.

Saturday, May the 8th, 2010

A fine morning. Will it be hot?

Sunday, May the 9th, 2010

We must not forget that "our opportunities and our life chances continue to be structured by our lived rather than our mediated experiences." (Andy Furlong and Fred Cartmel, "Young People and Social Change", 1997, Buckingham, Open University Press, p.113) Accumulated lived experiences build up human capital.

Monday, May the 10th, 2010

The first full class week after the Golden Week is going to start. However, we are going to have a sports day at the end of the week. Is it fully a class week in a real meaning?

A toll bar at a railroad crossing between Higashi-Kaizuka and Higashi-Kishiwada was broken, and trains consequently delayed for about 10 minutes. The train I took was super-crowded because of the accumulation of the commuters caused by the delay. It was a relief to find the tram less crowded, and I could obtain a seat to sit.

Tuesday, May the 11th, 2010

The cloudy morning has led to the rainy evening. It's raining outside the tram.

Wednesday, May the 12th, 2010

The cloudy morning … will lead to a fine afternoon?

We should reevaluate the idea of our having human capital, as "our opportunities and our life chances continue to be structured by our lived rather than our mediated experiences." (Andy Furlong and Fred Cartmel, "Young People and Social Change", 1997, Buckingham, Open University Press, p.113) Any individual should accumulate his/her own lived experiences to build up his/her own human capital.

It's getting “cold” in the afternoon. Yes, I can say it's cold. Chilly winds are blowing northward, and the sky is covered with sluggish clouds. The setting sun is reflecting its brightness on the other sides of the clouds, revealing its power on the edges of the clouds. The brightness of the edges, however, is almost that of winter.

Thursday, May the 13th, 2010

It is still a little bit cold this morning. I can say, however, it is refreshing; not too cold, not too hot.

A hot day has passed. It has not been literally hot, but the school was hot with the preparation for the coming sports day.

Friday,May the 14th, 2010

It may be one of the bottom high schools in the academic hierarchy.

Saturday, May the 15th, 2010

The devil makes work for idle hands.

Sunday, May the 16th, 2010

The astrology suggests that I should go out in public. What kind of public should it be? Anyway, the street in front of my house is busy with the preparation for the Tour Japan of cycling. I walked in front of the cycling public to get to the station. Can I say I made myself in public?

Monday, May the 17th, 2010

The pay day started with a fine rather hot morning. I possibly will be a summer day.

What should we do to those who lack a posture or readiness for college entrance examinations? Try to develop a preferable posture? Or to prepare a gimmick or two to lure them?

Tuesday, May the 18th, 2010

The Summer has come. At least its early version has. It is very difficult for me to describe the details of the transformation from Spring to Summer. Gods reside in details. How can I find details when the greens are so deep and dense?

Wednesday, May the 19th, 2010

A humid cloudy morning. Two middle-aged men made a quarrel in the train. No wonder. It's very stuffy today.

Friday, May the 21st, 2010

A misty green morning is the start of the school trip day. I'm taking the 07:12 train at Mozu Station, and heading toward Kyoto in my white shirt and tie on. What's the difference?

Having become so hot toward the high noon, walking around the Mimuro area was a tough one. The bus from Ryoan-ji Temple was so much crowded that we gave up taking it, and walked back to the Ritsumeikan University to pick up another one. Although we could take a seat on it, it took us longer to get to Keihan-Sanjo Station than we had expected, as the streets were very busy. Is visiting Kyoto so popular? Even back alleys were busy even before the sun set.

On the 17:43 train from Kyobashi to Ten'noji, a college (or high school?) student is reading A Catcher in the Rye. Hang it out, a young lad!

Saturday, May the 22nd, 2010

A hot rather fine morning led to a cloudy hot afternoon, which has become a stuffy evening with slight rain.

Sunday, May the 23rd, 2010

The day started with rain even from the very beginning.

Green, green, green, and green. As the greens have thicken, my way to the station has become unanimous and monotone. Even the dots of white clovers and the leftovers of azaleas are overpowered by the greens, … as I am.

It's raining hard on my way home. It's not spring rain, but still not summer rain. Too hard to be called spring one, but too cold to be that of summer. We may be in the shadow of the two season. Transition is always sore, as Iacooni puts it: "we all know that it is hard to give up the old paradigm, to think outside the box, to change --- and not just in science." (Marco Iacooni, "Mirroring People", 2008, Picador, New York, p.13) Not just in science, but even in seasons.

Monday, May the 23rd, 2010

Small rain drops are hitting the muddy deep green surface of the moat. Branches are sunk in the water. Summer is the season of the ground; while winter is that of the heaven.

Visited Ritsumei-kan Univ. and talked with Prof. Wataru Ozawa, who has produced Omuro Gurutto Map. The Map is published in English, in Chinese, in Korean, as well as in Japanese. The project is to develop students' fieldwork competency and English proficiency.

Buildings are sinking in the dusk, with the faraway western sky still holding shantih twilight. As the street lights have got put on, the dusk deepens itself.

Tuesday, May the 24th, 2010

After yesterday's heavy rain, the trunks are mossed. That makes the scene ever and even greener. Greens are overpowering the world.

Wednesday, May the 25th, 2010

The dimly wet sun lights are shining on the dimly sunk greens on the ground through the dimly wet clouds. Dimness is not only in my brain.

Ritsumaikan University has another English-education-related project, Decoding Kyoto. The project is organized along the Policy Science Department line, while the Map is along the Industrious Sociology Department line. I can hardly tell the difference between the two, but find it very interesting they are dealing English as a tool to render service to the society.

Thursday, May the 26th, 2010

Crowding clouds are covering the heaven. Seen from the heaven, the ground is covered with the clouds. Separated by the clouds, blues are ever blue, and greens are, not ever but occasionally, green.

The problem how to synchronize the files has been settled. Stop using a USB memory, and directly synchronize the SD card and the hard disk memory on my Intranet PC. I wonder if I should synchronize the SD card and the hard disk memory on my PC at home.

Friday, May the 27th, 2010

Simmering greens are pressing along the street. Glazing clouds are weighing over the road. The way to the destination is usually pressing.

Yo-zemi is buying off another education-related company. The educating industry is accelerating its realignment.

Saturday, May the 28th, 2010

I should have personal branding myself in my own mind. My DIY enables my to understand students' DIY.

We explicitly need High-end Exit Strategy and Low-end Exit Strategy. The explicitness would enable us someday to fit to the new situation.

Cohort, bracket, group... we need a appropriate category to talk about the new situation.

Will the tie-ups with cram schools lead us to another CEE literacy?

Sunday, May the 29th, 2010

Almost the end of the month. It's fine today, although I'm afraid I have a little bit of cold. Gods reside in details.

The God resides in details. Or, The Buddha resides in details.

The setting sun is still high in the heaven. At 6 in the evening, it is still bright and warm. Taking care of the club in the afternoon always demands me to close all the doors and gates. In the summer, however, it is not so bothersome. Ah, but I remember the last Sunday. Raining hard, some students secretly staying in the club house, it was really troublesome.

I have to get prepared to the individualizing and personalizing society, or the education in such a society. Isn't it contradiction

Monday, May the 30th, 2010

Actually the last day of the month. It is fine and rather hot this morning, although I have rather cold-like symptoms. It this a kind of a hay fever again?

How to make good use of Office Live, especially its Small Business Support, is my next challenge for the Summer Dies Non. Their good exploitation would enable me both to develop myself and to enhance the educational activities.

Participial constructions might be difficult to understand, especially when they have a subject and become an absolute participial construction. When a participial construction is used to make the sentence compact, what use does an absolute participial construction, which has at least one word more, have?