Hi David,
You seem to be having a relaxing vacation in Hokkaido, fully enjoy the unemployed freedom and I hope you will make some achievement on your diet.
Last weekend I bought your book through englishbooks.jp, and wondered why you had your books sold at a shop in Miyazaki, I got the answer now, the owner is your friend! It’s wonderful to have a guest here. By the way, how long have you been knowing each other?

Hello Cameron,
Nice to meet you and welcome to the blog!
First, best wishes for you and your wife! It’s nice to know that you got married recently, otherwise I will think that most Britain guys prefer to stay single, like David. If you don’t mind, may I ask where you are going for your honeymoon?
I’m not familiar with anything about business, so I just have some simple questions:
Does your shop only sell books on internet, or does it also sell books at the store, as other book shops?
What’s the most difficult thing for you to run a book shop(a business) in Japan? Are you enjoying being a shop owner?
I think it’s too much, just pick something that you feel like to answer.
I’m looking forward to your comments.

•  Ling
• 2010年7月 6日 14:41

Hi David and Tomo
thanks to reply my qustions about the difference between "judge by" and "judge from".

Please think about which preposition (by or from)
is appropriate to put in the parentheses.
(and if both prepotitions or other prepotitions( for example "on" are appropriate, please tell me )

・judge people ( ) their looks/appearances

・judge a thing ( ) the outside

・judging ( ) the look of the sky, I think it's about to rain.

・Judging ( ) the weather this week, we should have good weather this weekend.

辞書で調べると、片方だけ載っているものもあれば、
両方自然だと読み取れるものもあります・・・
実際に使うときは両者の違いはそれほど意識しないのでしょうか・・・。

•  Monaka
• 2010年7月 6日 15:16

Hi Monaka,

This is really difficult!

I think I would say:
judge people by their looks/appearances (not "from")
judge a thing from the outside (not by)
judging from/by the look of the sky
judging from/by the weather this week

Note that the second example is a bit different because the "from" is referring to your position, so "by" could not be used.

Let me think about it a bit more. If anyone else has any suggestions, please feel free to jump in.

•  David
• 2010年7月 6日 16:02

Hi David,
You seem to be having a"real" vacation! That's good for you.
By the way, when you mentioned that we can get your book on the web" through englishbooks.jp" , I checked the shop and found that your new book was listed on the corner"promotions." You also referred to this shop a few months ago,right? I was wondering why you decided to sell your books from the shop in Miyazaki,but now I got it.
Anyway, Internet world makes us possible everything,doesn't it?
I browsed the shop and like it!

Hello Cameron,

Congratulations on your wedding!
It's nice to have you here. As I mentioned above,your site is very nice.
May I ask some questions?

1. What made you come to Japan?
2. What part of Britain did you come from?
3. What were the things surprised you the most when you came to Japan?
4. David sometimes tells us his"失敗story" concerning learning Japanese. Do you have any 失敗 story?
5. You have been living in Japan for many years,right?
Do you experience any reverse culture shock when you return to Britain?

Thanks for your time. I hope you don't mind answering my questions. I asked you a lot!

Hi David and Monaka,
I've also thinking about the difference and was waiting for David's advice.
Can I share my idea?
After reading David answer, one idea came to mind.
>judge people by their looks/appearances (not "from")
judge a thing from the outside (not by)→I assume that you should think "from the outside" not "judge from" and the first one is also you should think"by their looks" not"judge by"
* 日本語で失礼します。
judge from/by のイディオムの単位ではなく”by/from....”として成立するのかどうか、と言う観点から考えるといいのでは、とDavidの説明を読みながら考えました。
分子構文については個人的にはjudging fromの形を使うことのほうが多いような気がします。
さっと思いついたことなので不確かですが。。

I've got to go back to cooking.

See you later.

Anne

•  Anne
• 2010年7月 6日 17:57

Hi there Anne, thanks for your post!

By the way, I sent a very long blog post to everyone, replying also to Ling, a few hours ago, but it isn't on the screen yet - I wonder why? Hopefully we'll all be able to read it soon!

Anyway, my introduction will have to wait until then, but to answer Anne's questions...

1. What made you come to Japan?
Purely by chance - I came out to visit some friends from university, and never left! That was in early 1998...
2. What part of Britain did you come from?
Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Have you ever been there?
3. What were the things surprised you the most when you came to Japan?
Everything! I had no preconception of Japan at all, so all things were new... the only things I knew about Japan before I came were (a# that there were people who push you into underground trains in Tokyo, and #b) Minamata disease, which is taught in the Scottish curriculum!
4. David sometimes tells us his"失敗story" concerning learning Japanese. Do you have any 失敗 story?
Yes! But it's a little bit rude, so I'm sorry but I can't tell you here...
5. You have been living in Japan for many years,right?
Do you experience any reverse culture shock when you return to Britain?
I certainly do... much more than travelling to any other foreign country. Maybe it's because I expect everything to be normal and unchanged in the UK... although I've been living in Japan for three-quarters of my adult life, so pretty much everything has changed in the UK!!!

Have a nice evening, everyone!

Cameron

•  Cameron Nagatomo
• 2010年7月 6日 20:38

Hi David

I'm glad to hear that you are having a lot of fun in Hokkaido. Your van and its bed look very useful! I bet that you become healthier than before!

Hi Cameron

Hello! Nice to meet you. Congratulations on your marriage. You came from Edinburgh? There is one of the place I visit.
Here is my question.
1) Why did you start a book shop?
2) What do you think is the best book?
I am looking forward to your comment :-)

Hi amo

I watched most of games but not at live. I record the games in late night and watch it in morning. But as you said, I feel sleepy everyday :-(. I cheered Argentina so I feel sad about their defeat(笑). I am also surprised at strength of Germany. It was nice game. I think Germany or Spain... maybe Germany will be a champion.
How about you?

trmr

•  trmr
• 2010年7月 7日 00:11

Hi Cameron,

Thanks for your quick reply. You are from Edinburgh? I visited Britain two years ago,but I haven't visited Edinburgh yet. I'd love to go there when I have a chance!
It's funny one of the things you knew about Japan before coming to Japan was the people who push you into underground trains in Tokyo! I saw the video on You Tube and it seems to be very famous all over the world.

I'm also wondering why your post didn't appear. I hope we will be able to read it soon,too!
Thanks again for answering my questions.

Anne

•  Anne
• 2010年7月 7日 00:21

Hi David and everyone,
It's been a while since we had a guest last time, hasn't it?
Monaka, I had never thought of the difference between them, so it's good study for me as well.
Anne, thanks for sharing your idea!

Hi Cameron,
Nice to have you with us! And congratulations on your wedding!!
By the way, your first comment isn't on the screen yet? Actually, things like that sometimes happen to us. Our comments are sometimes rejected and won't appear on the blog. If your comment isn't on the screen tomorrow, would you post it again please? I'm looking forward to reading it:) Anyway, let me ask you some questions.

1. How did you meet David? Did you meet him in Britain or in Japan?
2. Are you married to a Japanese woman? How did you meet her?
3. Have you lived in any other places in Japan?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Tomo

PS David, have fun tomorrow too!

•  Tomo
• 2010年7月 7日 00:38

Hi David,

Thank you for your detailed explanation about "moved". That made an impression on me. I can see the difference of the feeling beween in Anne's story and on soccer match. I will take your advice and look forward to getting certain myself that I use "moved" rightly for the context. Well then, have lots of fun the rest of your holidays in Hokkaido. Also, thanks for letting us ask Cameron. This is fun and a very good opportunity for us.

Hi Monaka, Tomo and Anne,

I was also thinking of the difference, but I haven't caught any hints yet.

Hi Cameron,

Nice to meet you. You seem to like living in Miyazaki, in Kyuushuu. Have you ever lived in another area in Japan? (same question as Tomo's) There are lots of good "Shouchuu" there: do you like any? (I can't drink much but my family love "Shouchuu" and buy 2 big bottles from Kyuushuu every month:) I suppose you started learning Japanese when you were around 20 years old, so you might have no difficulties to master it? You must be quite busy because you are going on your honeymoon soon. I can wait for your answer untill after the trip.

Hi everyone,

Tomorrow is the star festival, "Tanabata-sama". Have you prepared some wish? I'm having a small entertainment tomorrow evening at my place. I'm doing a skit show, but there are a couple lines that I easily forget:) I hope rain goes away and comes another day.

•  tsuneko
• 2010年7月 7日 00:57

Hi David,

It sounds that you are making the most of your vacation in Hokkaido! I'm happy for you. Besides that has a good effect on your diet, right?;-) It must be fun to ride a bicycle around Biei! Hope the weather will be nice both tomorrow and the day after.
As for "judge from/by", thanks for the explanation.
I understand that I can't use "by" in the second example, but I don't think I understand what you mean fully; the "from" is refering to your position.:(
Anne, thanks for sharing your idea!

Hi Cameron,

Congratulations on your wedding!
I'm glad to have you here. Thank you for answering some questions! Both things you knew about Japan are interesting and that seems to intimate that you came to Japan purly by chance.;-) You are from Edinburgh? I haven't been there yet, but I'd love to visit there next time I go to the UK.
May I ask some questions?

When is the best time to visit Scotland?
Have you lived in Miyazaki since you came to Japan?

I'm also wondering why your first comment wasn't on the screen. Hope we'll be able to read it!

Bye for now,

Maki

•  匿名
• 2010年7月 7日 01:01

Hi Cameron,

Sorry, I made a mistake to ask you.

...so you might have had no difficulties to master Japanese?

Good night!

•  tsuneko
• 2010年7月 7日 01:05

Hi David,
You seem be enjoying every moment of your trip.
Wonderful! Hokaido is a place where partly its nature remains untouched.
I like Hokaido's beatiful scenery and vastness.

Your explanation about usage of "moved" and "impressed" is very understandable.
Does "touched" should be also used as the same?
There are several words, we, Japanes, use to express our feeling not knowing they are too strong.
I call those words 大げさ言葉　and try to be careful to use them.
I used to use delicious and hobby a lot.
I found hobby is used in a high school textbook.
In this case, a boy said sleeping and eating as his hobby.
でも少し意外でした。日本人は感情を表したり、ほめることが苦手なので、夫婦間で愛してると言ったり、子どもをほめたりが苦手です。それに比べて英語圏ではほめることがあたりまえだから、私たちが英語で話すときは、あーほめないとみたいな意識がはたらいて、movedとかを多用しがちだと思います。
でも英語では、すごくいい試合だったとか物をほめ、自分が感動したとはあまり言わないんですね。
日本語でもうまく言えませんが…長くなりすいません

Hi Cameron,
Conglaturations! You recently got married.
So now is the happiest time in your life.
There are several things I want to ask about you but other people already did that, so I'll ask you general questions.
I am a wannabe writer and my first novel is going to be published soon.
I wrote it in Japanese though I put some English in it.
It's a love story and one line from a poem, "Thank you for making me the happiest man in the world"
One of the connotation of make is "compel someone to do something" according to the dictonary.
So if I use make in this line, the meaning become negative?
この詩にmakeを使えば、彼女が彼を無理やり幸せにしたというニュアンスになりますか？
One more question.
What is the difference between inlet and cove(cove is the high profile word from the movie)
anyway both means 入江。
「海辺に入江があり、二人のお気に入りの場所だった」
In this case which word should I use?
If you don't mind, please answer my questions.
If it's too much to ask you, just ignore it.
I'm looking forward to hearing your story about publishing.

David, enjoy a hike at 大雪山and bicycle ride around 美瑛。

Fumie

•  Fumie
• 2010年7月 7日 06:31

Hi team,
I'm halfway up Furano Dake in Taisetsuzan. The air up here is wonderful. Just breathing it feels like eating. There is quite a lot of snow on the ground up here. I'm sitting by a river having a stream having a snack. やっぱり自由人万
歳！

•  David
• 2010年7月 7日 10:25

Hi David,
ハハハ(笑)　自由人、満喫してください(＾＾♪
Enjoy yourself!

•  Tomo
• 2010年7月 7日 11:00

Hi David,

I'm glad you have a wonderful time as 自由人　in Hokkaido！
We had a heavy rain the day befor yesterday night in Tokyo.

Hi Cameron,

How do you do?
And congratulations on your wedding.

Hi Nao,

I'm sorry that I didn't give you replay right away.
Yes,Koichi's performance was perfect!
Naoさんがご存知のように、キラキラと輝き、オーラを放っていました。
ダブルカーテンコールがあり、屋良くんから急遽キャスト変更になった内くんのがんばりをほめていました。
光ちゃんの第一声は「暑いです」でした。「暑さで、想像以上に体力を消耗する」とも、言っていました。

Green

•  Green
• 2010年7月 7日 12:54

Hi David,

自由人ばんざい！
Are you biking around Biei at the moment?
Did you see beautiful lavenders?
Have fun!

Anne

•  Anne
• 2010年7月 7日 13:44

Hi Tsuneko,
Yes, today is the Star Festival. My daughter wrote her wish on a “tanzaku” and hung it on a bamboo branch at school. She brought her small branch back home, so I put it on the shelf in the living room.
By the way, your last sentence reminded me of this song: "Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day. Little Johnny wants to play. Rain, rain, go away. "♪♪

Hi Maki,
“the "from" is referring to your position”は、「この from は自分の位置･場所について言っているから」じゃないかな･･？

See you soon,

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2010年7月 7日 14:43

Hi Tsuneko and Tomo
Thanks for reminding me today is “Tanabata”, I won’t do anything particularly, but just thinking about it makes me feel happy. Have a lot of fun !

•  Ling
• 2010年7月 7日 16:17

Hi David

I envy 自由人!!Please have a wonderful time as 自由人;)
You're going to Biei?How's the weather?I hope it's fine and you'll see the beautiful field.

By the way,your idea is great!It's a good chance for us.Thank you!

Hi Green

Thank you for your report!
I was excited to hear your comment.I wanted to hear '暑い’,too!
His talk is so funny:)
I really want to go there,I'm jealous of you.

内くん is a nice perfomer!Right?I remembered his stage as 関ジャニ∞.
It was great.I want to see his stage again.

今回のＥＮＤＬＥＳＳ　ＳＨＯＣＫも見所いっぱいですね♪
本当にうらやましい限りです＾＾

Nao

•  Nao
• 2010年7月 7日 16:47

Hi Cameron

Nice to meet you.Thank you for joining this blog:)
You got married?Congratulations on your wedding!

By the way,I have some qestions.Please let me know!

1)How is the wedding in the UK?Is the wedding of the UK different from Japan?

2)Please tell me your favorite books,or which book do you recommend?

I love books,so I read a book every day.I'm jealous of you because you are the owner of the book shop.The book shop is a dreamland for me!HAHA.

Nao

•  Nao
• 2010年7月 7日 17:10

Hello again - sorry to take so long to reply, it's been a busy day!

Happy Tanabata to you all!!! It's a beautiful sunny day down here in Miyazaki, and I'm hoping to be able to stargaze with Miwa, my wife, later on...

Anyway, it's great that one of you has been to Edinburgh - I'd urge everyone to visit at some time. It's one of the most beautiful cities in the world; I might be a little biased, but I truly believe so!

To reply specifically to some of you:

Fumie, I see no problem with "making" someone happy. It's a wonderful thing to have happen to anyone, I'd say - I doubt the person who is happy would complain!

As to the difference between "inlet" and "cove", I have to admit that I'm not sure. Does anyone else have an answer?

Maki, summer is without doubt the best time to visit Scotland. It's far too cold the rest of the year! I haven't lived there for 18 years, though, so my memories of Scotland are a bit vague nowadays... I'm probably not the best person to ask specific questions to!

I'm hoping that first message will appear again too - it was really long, and I can't remember what I wrote any more!

Trmr,

Great that you went to Edinburgh! Did you have a good time?

I started a bookshop because I love books, and wanted to deliver better prices and service in the ELT book market. I hope we are doing a good job!

My favourite book is, of course, An A-Z of Common English Errors - what else could it possibly be?!? Does anyone know who the author is???

Tsuneko,

I love shochu (imo-jochu). It's like tap-water in Miyazaki. We have lots of shochu bars, and it's unusual to drink anything else here. I've always lived in Miyazaki, nowhere else. Miyazaki is my home! Please come some day!

Tomo,

Some of your questions I answered above, but the others: I met David here in Japan, and David has visited me here in Miyazaki, actually a few months ago. He came on his motorbike and toured around the prefecture!

My wife, Miwa, is a local girl. I took the unusual step of taking her name when we got married. My new surname, Nagatomo （長友） is a very common name here in Miyazaki - did you know that 60% of people called "Nagatomo" live in Miyazaki?

Unfortunately, I can't remember what I wrote yesterday, so it can't have been all that important - I'm sure everything will be covered over the next few days!

I hope I've answered everyone's questions. If not, please remind me!

Have a lovely starry Tanabata evening!

Cameron

•  Cameron Nagatomo
• 2010年7月 7日 17:59

Hi everyone,

Thanks for thinking about my questions.

In my dictionary, the answer(?)are
・judge people (by) their looks/appearances
・judge a thing (from) the outside
・judging (from) the look of the sky, I think it's about to rain.
・Judging (by) the weather this week, we should have good weather this weekend.

David mentioned that the second example is a bit different because the "from" is referring to your position, so "by" could not be used.

However, the translation of "judge a thing from the outside" is "物事を外観で判断する"
So I think the "from" is not referring to the speaker's　position...

In my opinion, （以降日本語で失礼します。）
fromを使うときは実際に何かを見たり聞いたりして判断する、
byを使うときは実際に見たか否かは問題でなく、
何かを判断する”基準となるもの”を強調したいのかな・・・
と考えています。

•  Monaka
• 2010年7月 7日 18:19

Hi Cameron,

Wow! Thank you for answering our questions. It's really fun to read your stories.

>summer is without doubt the best time to visit Scotland.→Actually, I visited NY last month and before deciding where to visit, Edinburgh(Scotland# was one of the choices. I'd love to visit there in summer sometime soon.

>Does anyone know who the author is???
→Why not? Of course, I#we) know!!! There is no other option to choose for you, haha...

>did you know that 60% of people called "Nagatomo" live in Miyazaki?
→I didn't know about that. Speaking of the surname "Nagatomo", it reminds me of the member of the Japanese football team,"長友" from FC 東京。

I hope you are having a lovely time with your wife,Miwa san. Stargazing sounds really romantic,doesn't it? Please say hello and congratulations to Miwa san.

Hi tsuneko,

How was the show? I hope you had a great time and didn't forget lines...

Hi Tomo,
>Rain, rain, go away........→It's lovely and I like this song^^)
I hope everyone is able to enjoy stargazing.

Hi David,

Did you burn enough calories and breathe the fresh air a lot?

Bye for now,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2010年7月 7日 20:45

Hi team,

If you don't mind, I will leave the questions about English for now because I am on holiday, and I don't want to think about it! (Incidentally, I have no idea of the difference between "inlet" and "cove." I would suggest either looking in a dictionary or googling "inlet or cove?")

Today, I climbed Furano Dake, and then did a loop around Kami-Furano Dake before coming back to the car park. It was about 12 km altogether, and it took me six hours. When I set off this morning, the weather was not looking too promising, but as I got higher up the mountain, the clouds thinned out. When I got to the top, the weather on the other side of the mountain range was completely different, and I could see for miles! It was amazing! I met a lot of really friendly people on the mountain too, and we spent a lot of time chatting and looking at the views. At one point, I passed a couple who must have been in their seventies! I hope I can still climb mountains when I am their age.

The best thing about today's climb, though, was the flowers. There were all kinds of small alpine flowers all over the mountain, and lots of 花畑. I took some pictures, so I'll show you those in a couple of weeks when I get back to Seto and upload them.

As I told you, I was planning to do some cycling tomorrow, but my legs are killing me after running so far yesterday and then walking all day today, so I think I am going to go for a nice restful drive instead. I'm going to try 沢登り on Saturday, so I need to make sure that I am fit and ready for that.

Right, I'm off to Fukiage Onsen, and then I'm going to bed.

Hope you are all well, and not suffering too much in the Honshu heat!

PS Thanks for making Cameron feel so welcome and asking him so many questions. I found out the other day that he is also a qualified SCUBA diving instructor, so you might like to ask him about that.

•  David
• 2010年7月 7日 21:45

Hi Cameron,

Thank you for answering our questions! It was really fun to read them, as Anne said.
>summer is without doubt the best time to visit Scotland.
That's good news for me, because my longest holiday is always in summer, though it's only for a week.:-(
>Does anyone know who the author is???
Hmmm, maybe the author's name begins with "D"!
I didn't know that the surname Nagatomo is very common in Miyazaki, and it also reminds me the soccer player as well. Actually he's from Ehime.;-)

How's the weather in Miyazaki? Hope you could stargaze with your wife!
(The word; "stargaze" is new to me. It's interesting that it consists of "star" and "gaze", right?)

Hi Tomo,

Thanks for your help! うん、同じように訳してみたのだけれど、「位置・場所」っていうところで考えすぎたみたい。^^;　Thanks!!

Hi tsuneko,

How was the show? Did you enjoy it? I hope the weather was nice and you had a lovely time!
Actually, we have "Tanabata-matsuri" on 7th of August in most areas in Hokkaido.
Did you see the Google Japan logo today? If not yet, please have a look at it!

Hi 自由人David,

It seems that you had a really good time in the mountains. Alpine flowers can make you feel better, right? I'm looking forward to all the pictures.:-)

Hi trmr and amo,

Last night, I gave up to watch the game; the Netherlands vs Uruguay, however I awoke by chance around 4am, so I turned on TV and watched the game in bed. I'm happy the Netherlands won! I really want to watch one; Germany vs Spain, but I can neither be up till 3:30am nor get up at that time!

Good night!

Maki

•  Maki
• 2010年7月 7日 23:52

Hi everyone,

The German team, my easy favorite, finally ended up losing to the Spanish team in the semifinals. But anyway, I really thought it was a great game.

Good morning,

Sam

•  Sam
• 2010年7月 8日 08:08

Hi David, Cameron,
Thank you for answering my questions.
That is very helpful.
As for the diffrence between inlet and cove, I checked Wikipedia but they are Greek to me.
So I think it's ok to use both of words.

Cameron,
I watched Scotland and Edinburgh sites on the internet.
Unfortunately, I've never been there, let alone England.
The scene of beautiful coast, castles made me visit there.
I can't go there now, maybe in the future I will.

I googled englishbooks.jp. and found your homepage, because I wanted to know what kind of books you're selling.
So mostly textbooks, do you have another line of books also, say, novels or magazines?
You started the book company because you like books. I like books a lot too.
Who is your favorite writer?
I like Kazuo Ishiguro.

I thought you are Japanese-British by your last name.
You are British, right?
But I assume you became an Miyazaki-no ojisan or oni-san who love syoucyu very much.

David,
Enjoy your holiday!
Just reading your blog, I imagined beautiful scenery and alpine flowers in my mind's eyes.
I'm looking forward to the pictures.

Fumie

•  匿名
• 2010年7月 8日 10:10

Hi David, Cameron and everyone,

David, are you having a good time today too? I think small alpine flowers have special beauties(my favorite one is black lilies). Look forward to hearing about 沢登り you're trying on Sat.

Cameron, glad to know you love imo-jochu, and your comment was fun to read. I didn't know it's like tap-water in Miyazaki(LOL)! Your decision on taking your wife's name was great. Cameron Nagatomo sounds nice. I walked through Kyushu from the north to the southest, 佐多岬 when I was really young. It took us more than 2 weeks. I liked the mountains, roads, beach, foods and warm people there. I'd like to come back there before very long.

Tomo, Ling, Anne and Maki,

>your last sentence reminded me of this song.
Yes, that's the song I borrowed the line from. I sing it when it keeps raining changing the 3rd line a little bit. I couldn't prepare a bamboo, so my friends next door let us use their big tree whose name is Goldcrest. We drew pictures on each cards and wrote wishes on the back, and hung them on the tree singing "Twinkle, twinkle, little star". A few stars were up in the sky last night.

>How was the show?
I think we made it. Although all of us made some mistakes like saying another person's line or skipping a line, we were able to continue without stopping by ad-libbing. We had a fun:)

>Did you see the Google Japan logo today?
Yes, I did. That is it.

>however I awoke by chance around 4am.
I think your body had totally changed into World Cup mode.:)

Monaka,
>So I think the "from" is not referring to the speaker's position...
I think so, too in this sentence.

•  tsuneko
• 2010年7月 8日 14:20

Hi Cameron,
Welcome to the blog, and it is nice to have you with us :-) Thank you for answering all the questions. Most of all questions that I could think of were already asked by other members. But I just want to dig into one thing, you said that you came to Japan was purely by chance and you never left, right? What made you decide to live in Japan? I mean, Japan was that attractive to you to live in?  By the way, I never been to Edinburgh, but I d love to go there someday (in near future)

Hi trmr, Maki and Sam
I wanted to watch the game; Germany vs. Spain. I set the alarm at that time so I was able to wake up but ...in a nutshell, I fall a sleep during the game(lol) When I realized that I had been sleeping, the game was already over!! What a shame:-( trmr, as I said before, I cheered for Germany, and I wanted them to be the top. Unfortunately, they lost, so I have no idea which will win Netherlands or Spain.

PS. David, Hope. Your legs feel fine and you could have anther fun day today ;-)
amo

•  amo
• 2010年7月 8日 15:19

Hi Cameron,
Welcome to the blog, and it is nice to have you with us :-) Thank you for answering all the questions. Most of all questions that I could think of were already asked by other members. But I just want to dig into one thing, you said that you came to Japan was purely by chance and you never left, right? What made you decide to live in Japan? I mean, Japan was that attractive to you to live in?  By the way, I never been to Edinburgh, but I d love to go there someday (in near future)

Hi trmr, Maki and Sam
I wanted to watch the game; Germany vs. Spain. I set the alarm at that time so I was able to wake up but ...in a nutshell, I fall a sleep during the game(lol) When I realized that I had been sleeping, the game was already over!! What a shame:-( trmr, as I said before, I cheered for Germany, and I wanted them to be the top. Unfortunately, they lost, so I have no idea which will win Netherlands or Spain.

PS. David, Hope. Your legs feel fine and you could have anther fun day today ;-)
amo

•  amo
• 2010年7月 8日 15:22

Hi amo, Maki, Sam, trmr, Anne and everyone,

>When I realized that I had been sleeping, the game was already over!!

You gave me a smile:) I think and hope Holland wins. (Sorry, Spain!) If we lived close, we could bet a cup of coffee or something like on that:)

•  tsuneko
• 2010年7月 8日 16:07

Hi tsuneko and everyone,
Actually, I saw the game live this morning,hehe...!
I expected Germany would win, but now I cheers the Netherlands! By the way, Puyol's heading was superb and he showed 'guts.'

•  Anne
• 2010年7月 8日 16:26

it's me again.
>'I cheers ' should be ' I cheer.'

•  Anne
• 2010年7月 8日 16:28

Hi team,

Cameron has been trying to post a comment all day, but it keeps getting rejected. Anyway, he sent it to me, so here it is.

Hello again - sorry for not writing until now - I had problems leaving blogs again. I think the ALC system doesn't like me...

Great to see so many nice comments, and talk about Edinburgh and Scotland - I am sad, however, that Scotland were not in the World Cup this time.

If we had been in the World Cup, I wonder what the octopus would have said - did anyone see or read about the octopus in Europe who has correctly predicted all of the World Cup results so far?

I wonder what he will say about the final...

Anyway, I have to head home and get some dinner. I hope this blog will be accepted...

Cheers for now,
Cameron

•  David
• 2010年7月 8日 21:53

Here is another comment that Cameron tried to post:

So the psychic octopus was right, Sam! Did you read the news about the octopus who always predicts the winning team?

•  David
• 2010年7月 8日 21:57

Hi Cameron,
Did you have a good time with your wife last night?(I'm sure you did!) Unfortunately, it was raining last night, so I couldn't see any stars.
Thanks for answering our questions. I didn't know that there are so many “Nagatomo-san”s in Miyazaki! You met David for the first time when he went to Miyazaki on his bike? David told us about his trip and showed us some pictures he took there. He said that he completely fell in love with Kyushu! lol I've been to Nagasaki but not Miyazaki. The sea and the beach must be beautiful there. I'd like to try to scuba dive in the turquoise sea someday!

Hi David,
Glad to hear you had a lovely time at Furano Dake. How are your legs today? I hope the nice onsen made you feel better. I'm sure you can climb mountains when you are in your seventies. Keep enjoying your adventures;-) (but stay safe!)
Look forward to seeing your pictures.

Hi Monaka,
Your question is really difficult!
＞However, the translation of "judge a thing from the outside" is "物事を外観で判断する"
So I think the "from" is not referring to the speaker's　position...

"judge a thing from the outside" は、「物事を外側から判断する」が「物事を外観で判断する」ということになるのかな・・？とも思ったのですが、う～ん、難しいですねぇ。。　一応参加ということで＾＾

Hi everyone,
As for the World Cup, my husband tried to watch the Germany-Spain game on live, but he fell asleep during the fist half, and then woke up before the second half started. I guess he is suffering from lack of sleep these days. By the way, he also hopes Holland wins.

Ling, Tanabata made you feel happy? I think Orihime and Hikoboshi were also very happy last night;-)

Anne, did you know that song? I used to sing a lot of children's songs in English:)

Maki, you are welcome!

Tsuneko, glad to hear you had a great time yesterday and the show went well.
♪Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are!♪

See you soon,

Tomo

PS I just read the two comments from Cameron, but "the octopus"?? What is he talking about?

•  Tomo
• 2010年7月 8日 22:31

Hi tsuneko,

Believe it or not, I awoke around 4am again this morning! As you mentioned, my body seems to have got into World Cup mode. ;-)

Hi Cameron,

I read about the octpus and he will predict a winner on Friday. Hope he will choose the Netherlands next time!

Hi Tomo,

The octpus, whoes name is Paul, has correctly predicted five straight World Cup outcomes involving Germany. He had predicted Spain would beat Germany in the semifinal match! Google "World Cup octopus", so you can find some articles about it.;-)

Hi David,

How's your day? Did you have a relaxing time before 沢登りon Saturday? Hope the weather will be nice on that day.:-)

Bye for now,

Maki

•  匿名
• 2010年7月 8日 23:38

Hi David,

I could tell easily that you are having fun from your comments. Happy for you ;-)
You took some pictures yesterday? Can’t wait to see them!!
沢登り sounds nice, but I do not know what exactly you are going to do at all. Anyway, enjoy it and looking forward to reading that report.

Hi Cameron,

I did not know about the octopus that you mentioned, so I googled it and I just read it a bit and I found out that his (?) name was Paul. It’s interesting.

Hi tsuneko,

If my comment made you smile, I am happy for that :-)

good night and sweet dreams,
amo

•  amo
• 2010年7月 9日 00:08

Hi Cameron
Thank you for your reply. I understand how you love the books.
>An A-Z of Common English Errors - what else could it possibly be?!?
Indeed, you are right :-)
I made a mistake. I forgot to write two words. Edinburgh is one of the place I WANT TO visit. So I haven't been to there yet. I'm sorry.
I read some news about that octopus. If the octopus could bet, he become very rich.

Hi tsuneko
Betting a cup of coffee? It sounds interesting :-) If we all could watch the matches together, it must be fun!

Hi Maki
Do you like Netherlands? Are there any players you like? I like Dirk Kuyt. If you haven't focused on him. Please watch his play at final :-)

Hi amo
Oh, it was so unfortunately that Germany's defeat and your sleeping. Not same as the octopus, My prediction was missed :-(. But Germany's performance was awesome in this competition! They have an other mach and a chance to be 3rd :-)

Hi David
You keep having nice days, don't you? I'm looking for the pictures of flowers. Please let us know about 沢登り on Saturday.

trmr

•  trmr
• 2010年7月 9日 01:04

Hi everyone,
I posted two comments, but they were rejected for some reason. As Anne told me before, I just worte my name without URL, even though they didn't appear on this blog. So I'm a little bit behind in the current topic. Does anyone know how to post my commnent exactly?

Hi Camelon,
Nice to meet you. All quesions were asked by many members, so I just enjoy reading your comment. Thank you for your lot of informantion.

Hi David,
You seem to be having 沢登、 take good care of yourself!

Hi Tomo and tsuneko,
Talking of Tanabata festival, I went to 大阪市立科学館　yesterday to see the show of "ハヤブサ”. It was so called 全天周映像、I could　virtually experience the atmosphere of riding on the rocket. It was really fantastic. Considering huge space, how little we are. I'm also amazed with the mystery of the Universe too.

•  Carrie
• 2010年7月 9日 09:53

Hi everyone,

If anyone of you finds Paul, the octopus predicts the final game, please let us know here.

Carrie, that show sounds nice. Lucky you! I saw the news yesterday about tons of LED balls floating on the river in Osaka. Around this time, it's nice to think of the universe, isn't it?! It's likely to be raining today here in Kobe. As for posting problem, sorry but I have no good idea.

Anne,
>By the way, Puyol's heading was superb and he showed 'guts.'
Yes, that's what I'm afraid of. Spanish team has great power and guts.

•  tsuneko
• 2010年7月 9日 10:43

Nice to meet you, Cameron!

I think "Paul" is just lucky! But because I am a little superstitious, I am also curious what he will say about the final.

Sam

•  Sam
• 2010年7月 9日 12:47

Hi Monaka,

> fromを使うときは実際に何かを見たり聞いたりして判断する、
> judging (from) the look of the sky, I think it's about to rain.

I don't know much about that usage, but I feel the same. As for the above sentence, if "judging" is omitted like the following, the meaning will be the same, right?

From the look of the sky, I think it's about to rain.

•  tsuneko
• 2010年7月 9日 13:30

Hello Cameron, David and everyone,

Hello Cameron, I am Taco. I just wanted to say hello to you and let you know that I bought David’s Common English Errors from your bookshop. I also ordered monthly fee envelope just for me. I don’t have a chance to use them for payment, but the illustration was so lovely that I purchased it. The envelope was put in “publisher’s recommendations”. Your promotion succeeded!
I will visit your shop anytime soon.
Have a nice weekend,
taco

•  taco
• 2010年7月 9日 20:20

Hi Maki,
Thanks for your information! I googled "World Cup octopus" and read some articles about the octopus. I first thought that "octopus" was someone's nickname or something, but it was a real octopus! すごいタコだね(笑) As Trmr said, I also think he can be very rich!

Hi Carrie,
Glad to hear you had a great time there!
＞Considering huge space, how little we are.
I think so, too!

By the way, my comments are sometimes rejected, too. When I can't post a comment from my computer, I send my comment to my cell phone by e-mail, copy the comment, and then post it from my cell phone.(or I save the comment and try to post it the next day.) I always copy my comment before I click on "Preview" or "Post" in case it disappears.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2010年7月 9日 20:53

I found your comment just below mine, and it made me smile. You know what? You say “すごいタコだね.” It looks funny, doesn’t it? My name is taco…
Thanks, tomo!

taco

•  taco
• 2010年7月 9日 21:32

Yeah, what a coincidence! And, about the octopus again, I've just seen TV news. They said Paul had chosen Spain. Never mind, Holland!

•  tsuneko
• 2010年7月 9日 22:04

Thank you for the latest news,Tsuneko,it's an interesting story,let's wait and see if Paul is right this time!

•  Ling
• 2010年7月 9日 22:28

Hi Tomo ＆taco,
What a coincidence! I made me grin.

Hi tsuneko and everyone,

There are only two more games left; the finals and the third place match.
I guess you have already known 'Paul the psychic octopus' predicted which country would win. According to his prediction, Spain will win#!.....# and Germany will be the third place. Believe it or not, if all his predictions were to be correct, he must be the real 'Psychic.' Anyway, he is the most famous octopus in the world right now.

>Tomo, did you see the video of octopus?

>Maki, my biological clock seems to be in "World Cup mode" at the moment,too!

> Carrie,
What I do is almost the same as Tomo(I don send my comments to my cell phone,though..).
If I would add one more thing, when my comment was rejected, I click the "post" button directly without clicking "Preview" button.(Did I mention this before?) It sometimes works but if not, I try to post again the next day as Tomo said.

>Fumie,
I also googled "cove" and "inlet", but sorry to say, I'm not sure about the difference. These two words are usually used as a set;"cove or inlet","cove and inlet." I saw a lot of beautiful photos of "cove and inlet." By the way, concerning with the oil spill in the U.S., the word "inlet" was used.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
"We're also tracking where oil is coming ashore. Tonight, the inlet into Florida's Pensacola Bay is closed as a six-square ,mile path of "dark red tar mats," ～...."

>David,
How was your day?

Bye for now,

Anne

Ps.I saw the news,too,tsuneko!

•  Anne
• 2010年7月 9日 22:48

it's me again.
" I made " should be " It made."

•  Anne
• 2010年7月 9日 22:53

Hi Anne,
Thank you for checking the word "inlet" and "cove".
So they are usually used as a set.
"Inlet" is used in case of oil spill, I chose to use "inlet" in my novel.
You are so kind!

Hi everyone,
I always feel everyone's English level is so high.
I learn a lot from evryone's comments.
How do you learn English?
Some people might had studied English in English speaking countries.
What is the good way to improve English skill while staying in Japan?
Any suggestions?
If you have any recommendation, please share me.

Fumie

•  Anne
• 2010年7月10日 00:55

Apology
I just noticed one error that my comment of 00:55 was written as Anne's.
I wrote my name,Fumie under the comment but outside the box it's said Anne.
I don't know why, is it some kind of technical error or did I get senile to that level?
Anne, I'm really sorry to make you uncomfortable.

Fumie

•  匿名
• 2010年7月10日 09:35

hi there!
i'm writing this comment from my cell phone in the car. we're taking a drive to see Mt. Fuji. it's a beautiful day!

hi taco,
ha ha ha, you are welcome(笑). of course you are great, too!；-)

hi Anne,
yes, i saw some videos of him, but he is not for me!

hope you are all enjoying your weekend.

c u soon,

tomo

•  Tomo
• 2010年7月10日 11:25

Hi Fumie,
Please don't say sorry!
I didn't feel uncomfortable at all^^)
Tomo,
>he is not for me!→me neither!

I'm going out now.

Have a great weekend,everyone.

Anne

•  Anne
• 2010年7月10日 12:01

Hi tsuneko,

> As for the above sentence,(judging from the look of the sky),if "judging" is omitted like the following, the meaning will be the same, right?

>From the look of the sky, I think it's about to rain

Yes, I think so.
I can't find big difference between "judge from"and "judge by" so I'm going to study other verbs which express the meaning of judging too.
(判断基準の前置詞の選択という括りにしていろいろ調べてみようと思います^^)

If I can find something, I'll tell you.

•  Monaka
• 2010年7月12日 11:15

Hi Monaka,

Thanks for sharing your idea about the difference. Look forward to hearing from you again. If I find something, I'll tell you too. Hang in there!

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