Jaremaga-People

1. Aug 4
Are you following Major League Baseball?
Iguchi was transferred from the White Sox to the Phillies, and everyone is waiting for Barry Bonds to break Hank Aaron’s home run record.
In the meantime, Matsui Hideki is working hard.
He hit 13 home runs in July and was named MVP for the month.
He certainly deserved it.

2. Aug 3
I was sad to hear that Aku Yuu had died.
He wrote the lyrics (“kashi”) for several songs that I knew and liked.
For example, he wrote my favorite Miyako Harumi song, “Kita no Yado Kara.”
He also wrote the lyrics for “UFO” by Pink Lady.
I didn’t know anything about him until I read about his death in the newspaper yesterday.
They said that he wrote 5000 songs in his lifetime.
What an incredible man!

3. Aug 1
The answer to yesterday’s quiz is Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Many people don’t realize that he wasn’t born in the U.S., but if you listen to him speak, you can hear his Austrian accent.
He is an example of the American dream.
He didn’t come from a rich family, but he worked hard and became the best bodybuilder in the world.
He moved to the U.S. so that he could become an actor.
After he became rich and famous, he went into politics.

4. Jul 31
Guess whose birthday it was yesterday.
He has just turned 60.
I’m sure you know him.
I’ll give you some hints.
He was born in Austria.
He became a world champion bodybuilder and then moved to the U.S.
He made a lot of action movies in Hollywood and became a big star.
Now he is the governor of California.

5. Jul 20
There is a beauty contest in Bolivia for native women.
This year, Mariela Molinedo, the winner of the contest, was caught cheating (“caningu”).
Women must wear traditional clothes and have braided hair (“mitsuami”), but Ms. Molinedo had short hair.
She made people think that she had long hair because she used false braids.
They found out just after she was crowned.
In the end, they took away all her prizes.

6. Jul 11
You can see the footprints (“ashiato”) and handprints (“tegata”) of movie stars at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
The most famous stars are invited to make prints in a cement square.
When the cement hardens, the block is added to those of the other stars in front of the theater.
A few days ago David Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint of the Harry Potter series became the newest stars to leave their prints in cement.

7. Jul 6
Every year on July 4th there is a hot dog eating contest in New York.
For the last six years, the winner has been a small man named Kobayashi from Nagoya (Koby is his nickname in the U.S.).
Last year, an American named Joey Chestnut came in a close second with 52 hot dogs to Koby’s 53 and 3/4.
Well, this year Chestnut finally beat Koby 66 to 63,
They ate that many hot dogs in only 12 minutes!

8. Jun 16
One of my favorite actors is Robin Williams.
The first time I saw him was in a movie called “Good Morning, Vietnam.”
He played a DJ for the army during the Vietnam War.
You may know him as the voice of the genie in the Disney movie, “Aladdin.”
He also narrated the recent animated movie, “Happy Feet.”
He usually does comedy, but he can play serious roles (“yaku”), too.
He did a great job in “Good Will Hunting.”

9. Jun 1
Riyo Mori was crowned “Miss Universe” this week.
She became the second Japanese woman to win the title.
If you want to see how ideas of beauty have changed, go to the Miss Universe web site and look at the past titleholders(=champions).
The bright red lips and curly permanents (“pa-ma”) are gone.
Contestants (“shutsujousha”) these days have longer hair and lighter lips.

10. May 14
Isn’t Kazuyoshi Miura amazing?
He left high school to train in Brazil and became the first Japanese player on a professional Brazilian team.
Then he came back to Japan to help start the “J” League.
He went on to play in Europe and in the new soccer league in Australia.
Now he’s back in Japan and has set a new record.
At 40 he’s the oldest soccer player to score a goal in Japanese soccer history.

11. May 3
My mother, who lives near Boston, hears the name Daisuke a lot.
It’s the first name of my son-in-law, but it’s also the first name of the Boston Red Sox’s newest big name player.
Matsuzaka is so popular that restaurant owners are creating new food and drink menus with Matsuzaka sushi and a Matsuzaka cocktail.
When Daisuke pitches and wins, fans order those things.

12. Mar 27
What people will do to get into the Guinness Book of World Records!
One man from Britain, Robert Garside, spent 6 years running around the world.
He ran through Africa and in the Himalayas.
He ran through China and Russia.
He met the woman who later became his wife while running through Venezuela (how do you have a date while you are running around the world?).