It's officially been a dog's age and a half since I have last entered the blogosphere and contributed anything. I of course normally only contribute light and fluffy things, but contributing something is better than nothing.
The school term is coming to a close and reports cards are due. Student Christmas shows are approaching and practicing needs to be done. Stomach viruses, colds, swine flu and other blights are flying throughout the air here in Kobe. I caught a stomach virus and a cold, but luckily nothing more serious. In the past, that would have ben serious enough, but these days, there are even more worrisome viral critters flying through our friendly japanese skies!
Here are a few vids I threw up over the last few days.
SOME COOL NEWS....
I am also putting together a Christmas Season collaboration video on You Tube. Anyone and I mean ANYONE is invited to submit a video to me. You DO NOT have to be a Japan-based vlogger to take part.
Watch my video and see!
Showing posts with label H1N1. Show all posts
Showing posts with label H1N1. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Japanese Toilets and H1N1
Another weekend and another bit of H1N1 news in Japan "Sugoy"....lots of sarcasm there:
New flu enters epidemic stage in Japan as number of cases rises
Another unfortunate case of bad english in a Japanese retail business. I know of the legendary martial artist Bruce Lee, but haven't heard of his "urine soaked" colleague!
WEIRD TOILET THING
Last week I went to Kyoto to visit some fellow You Tube video bloggers. While there, we went to a bar and check out the bizarre contraption in the men's room. I have never seen something like this. It appears to be some sort of urinal, but one that possibly more than one person could use at a time. I suppose this sort of urinal could lead to some sword fighting and a possible mess everywhere. Two of my friends who were there, who are long time Japan residents also said that they had never seen anything like this before.
Bizarre Japanese urinal.
More strange men's room goodness in Kyoto, Japan!
TONIGHT IS THE OSAKA YOU TUBE GATHERING!
6pm in Osaka. Near Tennoji Station in a bar called Tin's Hall.
New flu enters epidemic stage in Japan as number of cases rises
Another unfortunate case of bad english in a Japanese retail business. I know of the legendary martial artist Bruce Lee, but haven't heard of his "urine soaked" colleague!
WEIRD TOILET THING
Last week I went to Kyoto to visit some fellow You Tube video bloggers. While there, we went to a bar and check out the bizarre contraption in the men's room. I have never seen something like this. It appears to be some sort of urinal, but one that possibly more than one person could use at a time. I suppose this sort of urinal could lead to some sword fighting and a possible mess everywhere. Two of my friends who were there, who are long time Japan residents also said that they had never seen anything like this before.
Bizarre Japanese urinal.
More strange men's room goodness in Kyoto, Japan!
TONIGHT IS THE OSAKA YOU TUBE GATHERING!
6pm in Osaka. Near Tennoji Station in a bar called Tin's Hall.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Rainy Season, Pandemics and Spaghetti Potato Chips
Lots of things have been happening on this side of the world, but I've had very little time to ramble on about them.
Quick update:
1. The swine flu scare is pretty much history in japan....thank God!
2. In Korea....if you're a foreigner...BEWARE....they'll put you in quarantine if you cough! English teachers are being taken into custody to prevent swine flu, while native Koreans with swine flu are allowed to wander free....cause it's a "foreign ailment"....more irresponsible government behavior!
3. CANADIAN NEWS...The NDP won the election in Nova Scotia for the first time EVER....an NDP government...strange...but I think cool! (I'm a Nova Scotia boy)
4. I'm working my ass off!
5. I still find some time to make short You Tube vids (see below)!
6. Rainy Season in Japan has begun!
....stay tuned for more updates!
WOW! Check this out. The other day I came across spaghetti potato chips in a 100Yen shop(a Japanese equivalent of the "Dollar Store"). I like the brand "O'Zacks"...they normally have pretty good chips. I was amazed! they did indeed taste EXACTLY like cheap Prego spaghetti sauce.
Japanese Emperor to visit Canada in July: Harper
OTTAWA (AFP) - - Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will visit Canada from July 3-14, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced.
"This year marks the 80th anniversary of the establishment of Canada's first diplomatic mission in Japan," said Harper. "It is an honor for Canada to welcome their Majesties on this special occasion."
Their visit, he said, "clearly demonstrates the warmth and importance of the relationship between our two countries."
Emperor Akihito's last visit to Canada was in 1953 when he was crown prince. On their visit this time, he and Empress Michiko will travel to Ottawa, Toronto, Victoria and Vancouver, Harper's office said. Read More at Yahoo News...
Here are a few of my more recent You Tube vids :)
Nature's Revenge
Tard Test
Quick update:
1. The swine flu scare is pretty much history in japan....thank God!
2. In Korea....if you're a foreigner...BEWARE....they'll put you in quarantine if you cough! English teachers are being taken into custody to prevent swine flu, while native Koreans with swine flu are allowed to wander free....cause it's a "foreign ailment"....more irresponsible government behavior!
3. CANADIAN NEWS...The NDP won the election in Nova Scotia for the first time EVER....an NDP government...strange...but I think cool! (I'm a Nova Scotia boy)
4. I'm working my ass off!
5. I still find some time to make short You Tube vids (see below)!
6. Rainy Season in Japan has begun!
....stay tuned for more updates!
WOW! Check this out. The other day I came across spaghetti potato chips in a 100Yen shop(a Japanese equivalent of the "Dollar Store"). I like the brand "O'Zacks"...they normally have pretty good chips. I was amazed! they did indeed taste EXACTLY like cheap Prego spaghetti sauce.
Japanese Emperor to visit Canada in July: Harper
OTTAWA (AFP) - - Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will visit Canada from July 3-14, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced.
"This year marks the 80th anniversary of the establishment of Canada's first diplomatic mission in Japan," said Harper. "It is an honor for Canada to welcome their Majesties on this special occasion."
Their visit, he said, "clearly demonstrates the warmth and importance of the relationship between our two countries."
Emperor Akihito's last visit to Canada was in 1953 when he was crown prince. On their visit this time, he and Empress Michiko will travel to Ottawa, Toronto, Victoria and Vancouver, Harper's office said. Read More at Yahoo News...
Here are a few of my more recent You Tube vids :)
Nature's Revenge
Tard Test
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Roh Moo-hyun and some things in Japan
Just a quick update on things:
1. I was shocked and saddened to hear about the suicide of former South Korean President, Roh Moo-hun. He was being investigated for a bribery scandal. I remember being present at the candle light protests in Seoul in 20004 when the government attempted to impeach him.
Here is a video from my You Tube Channel about those protests. This was taken by my friend. Myself and two friends went into Seoul that night (we lived in Ilsan) to check things out). You can see me at the end of the video I think.
Protest in Korea (President Roh Impeachment)
2. Influenza A hysteria is still holding on in Kobe. People are, in general, being completely irrational and buying and surgical mask that isn't tied down!
3. Schools all across Hyogo and Osaka Prefectures reopen tomorrow.
4. I'm off to a You Tube meet up this afternoon in Osaka.
5. I've been running a lot....feels good.
6. I plan to run in 2 full marathons this Fall...that's why I've started to train!
7. I just had a wonderful breakfast!
1. I was shocked and saddened to hear about the suicide of former South Korean President, Roh Moo-hun. He was being investigated for a bribery scandal. I remember being present at the candle light protests in Seoul in 20004 when the government attempted to impeach him.
Here is a video from my You Tube Channel about those protests. This was taken by my friend. Myself and two friends went into Seoul that night (we lived in Ilsan) to check things out). You can see me at the end of the video I think.
Protest in Korea (President Roh Impeachment)
2. Influenza A hysteria is still holding on in Kobe. People are, in general, being completely irrational and buying and surgical mask that isn't tied down!
3. Schools all across Hyogo and Osaka Prefectures reopen tomorrow.
4. I'm off to a You Tube meet up this afternoon in Osaka.
5. I've been running a lot....feels good.
6. I plan to run in 2 full marathons this Fall...that's why I've started to train!
7. I just had a wonderful breakfast!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
More Kobe Flu and a Sea of Masks
There are more people wearing masks in Kobe than you can shake a stick at! Of course, on any normal day of the year, no matter where you are, you'll see lots of people wearing masks. they are either fearful of spreading infections or acquiring them. Today is a little different. With 4 confirmed cases of domestic H1N1 here in Kobe (as of today).
Most schools in Kobe city and Osaka city have been closed due to the flu "hysteria"...and it truly is hysteria here in Japan, mostly to the sensationalizing of H1N1 by the Japanese media (they are really blowing things out of proportion!). I work just outside of Kobe City and am scheduled to work as usual tomorrow morning, but I have a feeling things might change later this week as the new flu seems to be spreading throughout Hyogo Prefecture.
I was told hat I had to wear a mask while working tomorrow so my wife and I struck out to find some at a local pharmacy. It wasn't such an easy task. Masks are going like hotcakes in these parts (medical masks are the Japanese "hotcake" for sure!). Eventually, after 5 or 6 pharmacies we visited apologized to us (in the ever polite Japanese way) about being completely sold out, we were able to find one package of masks for me at a pharmacy (or chemist for any fine folks from the British Isles who may be reading this)close to my house. I'll be ready to look like a doctor while going to work tomorrow morning. The question is, how many students will actually show up tomorrow?
Here's the latest news on the Kobe H1N1 from JapanToday:
Japan confirms 13 more flu cases; total domestic cases rise to 21
Sunday 17th May, 03:38 PM JST
OSAKA —
A total of 13 students from a high school in Osaka Prefecture and one in Hyogo Prefecture were confirmed to have been infected with the new strain of influenza A, the health ministry and local authorities said Sunday, bringing the total number of domestic infections in Japan to 21 in the two prefectures.
The confirmation follows the discovery of Japan’s first eight domestic cases of the new flu in Hyogo, which adjoins Osaka, on Saturday.
‘‘We need to be fully prepared to prevent the further spread of infections,’’ Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura told reporters.
The 21 cases exclude four cases discovered during onboard quarantine inspections at Narita International Airport among a group of Japanese students and teachers who flew home from the United States after a trip to Canada.
Of the 13 new cases, nine are from Kansai Okura Senior High School in the city of Ibaraki and none have traveled overseas recently, the Osaka prefectural government said.
About 110 students at the high school have shown symptoms of influenza since around Monday, according to the privately-run school.
The school will be closed from Monday through Saturday. Experts suspect a group infection at the school.
The other four of the 13 are from Kobe High School, a public-run school whose three students are among the first eight people confirmed to have the new flu.
The government on Saturday shifted the stage of its new-flu action program from ‘‘a period of overseas outbreak’’ to ‘‘an early period of domestic outbreak’’ and called for companies and schools in the areas concerned to allow individuals to avoid commuting during rush hours.
Commenting on the discovery of the first domestic infections in Japan, Masato Tashiro, chief of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases’ influenza virus research laboratory, said that community-level transmissions may have begun in Japan.
Tashiro, a member of the World Health Organization’s emergency committee, told reporters at the organization’s headquarters on Saturday that several hundred people in Japan may already be infected with the H1N1 strain of influenza A.See original...
Here is the latest coverage from the Japan Times Online:
Teens in Kobe test positive for H1N1
First in-country swine flu cases shut schools
Kyodo News
Schools in the Kansai region were shut down in three wards in Kobe and in the nearby city of Ashiya after a local high school student became the first of a spate of nine domestic cases of H1N1 swine flu.
The student, who has been hospitalized, is a 17-year-old male from prefecture-run Kobe High School who has never been overseas, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said.
Two other students from the school, a male and a female, also tested positive later in the day, along with five more people from a different high school in Kobe, and a high school student from Osaka Prefecture, the ministry said. Read More Here...
Most schools in Kobe city and Osaka city have been closed due to the flu "hysteria"...and it truly is hysteria here in Japan, mostly to the sensationalizing of H1N1 by the Japanese media (they are really blowing things out of proportion!). I work just outside of Kobe City and am scheduled to work as usual tomorrow morning, but I have a feeling things might change later this week as the new flu seems to be spreading throughout Hyogo Prefecture.
I was told hat I had to wear a mask while working tomorrow so my wife and I struck out to find some at a local pharmacy. It wasn't such an easy task. Masks are going like hotcakes in these parts (medical masks are the Japanese "hotcake" for sure!). Eventually, after 5 or 6 pharmacies we visited apologized to us (in the ever polite Japanese way) about being completely sold out, we were able to find one package of masks for me at a pharmacy (or chemist for any fine folks from the British Isles who may be reading this)close to my house. I'll be ready to look like a doctor while going to work tomorrow morning. The question is, how many students will actually show up tomorrow?
Here's the latest news on the Kobe H1N1 from JapanToday:
Japan confirms 13 more flu cases; total domestic cases rise to 21
Sunday 17th May, 03:38 PM JST
OSAKA —
A total of 13 students from a high school in Osaka Prefecture and one in Hyogo Prefecture were confirmed to have been infected with the new strain of influenza A, the health ministry and local authorities said Sunday, bringing the total number of domestic infections in Japan to 21 in the two prefectures.
The confirmation follows the discovery of Japan’s first eight domestic cases of the new flu in Hyogo, which adjoins Osaka, on Saturday.
‘‘We need to be fully prepared to prevent the further spread of infections,’’ Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura told reporters.
The 21 cases exclude four cases discovered during onboard quarantine inspections at Narita International Airport among a group of Japanese students and teachers who flew home from the United States after a trip to Canada.
Of the 13 new cases, nine are from Kansai Okura Senior High School in the city of Ibaraki and none have traveled overseas recently, the Osaka prefectural government said.
About 110 students at the high school have shown symptoms of influenza since around Monday, according to the privately-run school.
The school will be closed from Monday through Saturday. Experts suspect a group infection at the school.
The other four of the 13 are from Kobe High School, a public-run school whose three students are among the first eight people confirmed to have the new flu.
The government on Saturday shifted the stage of its new-flu action program from ‘‘a period of overseas outbreak’’ to ‘‘an early period of domestic outbreak’’ and called for companies and schools in the areas concerned to allow individuals to avoid commuting during rush hours.
Commenting on the discovery of the first domestic infections in Japan, Masato Tashiro, chief of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases’ influenza virus research laboratory, said that community-level transmissions may have begun in Japan.
Tashiro, a member of the World Health Organization’s emergency committee, told reporters at the organization’s headquarters on Saturday that several hundred people in Japan may already be infected with the H1N1 strain of influenza A.See original...
Here is the latest coverage from the Japan Times Online:
Teens in Kobe test positive for H1N1
First in-country swine flu cases shut schools
Kyodo News
Schools in the Kansai region were shut down in three wards in Kobe and in the nearby city of Ashiya after a local high school student became the first of a spate of nine domestic cases of H1N1 swine flu.
The student, who has been hospitalized, is a 17-year-old male from prefecture-run Kobe High School who has never been overseas, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said.
Two other students from the school, a male and a female, also tested positive later in the day, along with five more people from a different high school in Kobe, and a high school student from Osaka Prefecture, the ministry said. Read More Here...
Saturday, May 16, 2009
H1N1 vs. Kobe
1st domestic infection of new flu confirmed in Japan
TOKYO —
The first domestic infection of the new strain of influenza virus A in Japan was confirmed Saturday, the health ministry said. The patient is a 17-year-old male high school student in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, who has no record of overseas travel, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Two other senior high school students from the city—one male and one female also with no record of overseas travel—have also tested positive for the new flu in local laboratory tests, according to the Kobe municipal government.
At a hastily called press conference, Yoichi Masuzoe, Japan’s health minister, said the government ‘‘will detect through aggressive epidemiological study those who had close contact with the patient to hospitalize them or to urge them to refrain from going out.’’
Prime Minister Taro Aso issued a statement in which he said, ‘‘The government is ready to take measures to prevent the expansion (of the new flu)...I hope people in Japan remain vigilant while staying calm.’’
Specimens taken from them are analyzed by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Tokyo, the ministry said. Japan Today...Read More...
TOKYO —
The first domestic infection of the new strain of influenza virus A in Japan was confirmed Saturday, the health ministry said. The patient is a 17-year-old male high school student in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, who has no record of overseas travel, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Two other senior high school students from the city—one male and one female also with no record of overseas travel—have also tested positive for the new flu in local laboratory tests, according to the Kobe municipal government.
At a hastily called press conference, Yoichi Masuzoe, Japan’s health minister, said the government ‘‘will detect through aggressive epidemiological study those who had close contact with the patient to hospitalize them or to urge them to refrain from going out.’’
Prime Minister Taro Aso issued a statement in which he said, ‘‘The government is ready to take measures to prevent the expansion (of the new flu)...I hope people in Japan remain vigilant while staying calm.’’
Specimens taken from them are analyzed by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Tokyo, the ministry said. Japan Today...Read More...
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Curry in Kobe
Who says that filling mailboxes with advertisements and leaflets doesn't work? last night we found one in our mailbox for an Indian restaurant in Sannomiya called Aarti. Man....it looked good. So we made the team decision (team...as in my wife and I) to go there this afternoon for lunch. So off we went earlier today to Sannomiya and just behind JR Sannomiya Station, we found Aarti. A great feast was then had!
Here is Aarti Indian Restaurant, located just behind JR Sannomiya Station. Look for Nishimura Coffee and there's a little road between it and a pachinko place. It's about a block up the road, just after the AM/PM convenience store.
Some great lunch specials. I had the 1000Yen one!
Here's my plate. 3 types of curry and rice. There was nan bread to follow as well.
My wonderful wife had spinach curry. I've never seen or tried spinach curry before, but it was really good.
The nan bread was HUGE and tasted so great. They had an oven at the entrance of the restaurant and a guy was stationed there making fresh bread.
When all was said and done, this is what my plate looked like. It was a true feast.
My wife's only complaint was that she would have preferred the curry to be a little spicier. Myself, I am a true wuss when it comes to spicy food (even though I lived in South Korea for 5 years),so I was content with a milder curry.
Oh yeah...another H1N1 case!
Another student confirmed to be infected with new flu; 4th case in Japan
TOKYO —
Another male student who arrived at Narita airport from the United States on Friday was confirmed to be infected with the new flu strain, the health ministry said Sunday, bringing the number of cases of new flu in Japan to four.
The student was on board the same flight as a teacher and two other students who were confirmed Saturday to be Japan’s first cases of the new strain of the H1N1 influenza A virus.
A further 48 passengers and crew who were on the Northwest Airlines flight are being monitored at an accommodation facility near the airport for 10 days and the health ministry is conducting follow-up checks on all the other passengers.Read more...(Japan Today)
Here is Aarti Indian Restaurant, located just behind JR Sannomiya Station. Look for Nishimura Coffee and there's a little road between it and a pachinko place. It's about a block up the road, just after the AM/PM convenience store.
Some great lunch specials. I had the 1000Yen one!
Here's my plate. 3 types of curry and rice. There was nan bread to follow as well.
My wonderful wife had spinach curry. I've never seen or tried spinach curry before, but it was really good.
The nan bread was HUGE and tasted so great. They had an oven at the entrance of the restaurant and a guy was stationed there making fresh bread.
When all was said and done, this is what my plate looked like. It was a true feast.
My wife's only complaint was that she would have preferred the curry to be a little spicier. Myself, I am a true wuss when it comes to spicy food (even though I lived in South Korea for 5 years),so I was content with a milder curry.
Oh yeah...another H1N1 case!
Another student confirmed to be infected with new flu; 4th case in Japan
TOKYO —
Another male student who arrived at Narita airport from the United States on Friday was confirmed to be infected with the new flu strain, the health ministry said Sunday, bringing the number of cases of new flu in Japan to four.
The student was on board the same flight as a teacher and two other students who were confirmed Saturday to be Japan’s first cases of the new strain of the H1N1 influenza A virus.
A further 48 passengers and crew who were on the Northwest Airlines flight are being monitored at an accommodation facility near the airport for 10 days and the health ministry is conducting follow-up checks on all the other passengers.Read more...(Japan Today)
Saturday, May 9, 2009
First H1N1 Cases in Japan....ah shit!
Yep.....my life became just a little more difficult. I live in a mask culture. People in Japan wear masks at the drop of a hat. Not ski masks or welding masks(which are popular with middle aged women in Korea), but surgical masks. Yep, when someone is sick and doesn't want to share it, or wants to prevent getting little germies, they wear little white or blue masks.
Look! It's me wearing my fashionable, "Stay Away Influenza" mask! I actually feel like I'm beginning to fit in here!
Well, ever since the "swine flu"...or the name I prefer, H1N1 has been sweeping across the world, I've had to wear a mask t work. it's a regulation. All the teachers and students are supposed to wear them. I suppose not everyone though. The kiddies in the daycare don't have to. The masks are uncomfortable, hot and obviously not very effective. BUT....I will be now forced to wear one (it's some sort of government regulation at schools) of the cursed things indefinitely since as of TODAY, Japan has it's first OFFICIAL cases of H1N1. Yep, 3 people from Osaka. Two high school boys and their teacher who had been staying at a home stay in Oakville, Ontario, Canada! Eeeekkkkk.....
Osaka school holds assembly to explain new-flu infections to students
OSAKA —
An Osaka Prefecture-run high school held an assembly Saturday to explain developments after two of its students and a teacher were found on their return from a trip abroad Friday to have caught the new strain of influenza in the first cases of the new flu in Japan. Masato Nakanishi, chief of the Osaka prefectural education board, told reporters that the school in Neyagawa, Osaka, will remain open as usual as students who did not take part in the trip are unlikely to be infected with the disease.
The two 16-year-old students and the 46-year-old teacher had been staying in Oakville, Canada, from April 24 on a short-term study program. In the face of reports about the spread of the new flu in Canada, the school sent 50 masks to the group of students there. They did not wear the masks as there were not many local residents wearing them, school officials said. ‘‘It may have led to a different result if they had wore masks,’’ the school principal told reporters.Japan Today...
The best way to describe the Japanese Media's way of dealing with the H1N1 situation up until this point has been frenzied hysteria. It's only going to get worse from now on! By the way, what is the level beyond "frenzied hysteria"? "Shitting your pants everywhere panic"??? I'm not sure!
Of course...I almost forgot, check out my latest You Tube creation!
Weird Crap under a Bridge
Look! It's me wearing my fashionable, "Stay Away Influenza" mask! I actually feel like I'm beginning to fit in here!
Well, ever since the "swine flu"...or the name I prefer, H1N1 has been sweeping across the world, I've had to wear a mask t work. it's a regulation. All the teachers and students are supposed to wear them. I suppose not everyone though. The kiddies in the daycare don't have to. The masks are uncomfortable, hot and obviously not very effective. BUT....I will be now forced to wear one (it's some sort of government regulation at schools) of the cursed things indefinitely since as of TODAY, Japan has it's first OFFICIAL cases of H1N1. Yep, 3 people from Osaka. Two high school boys and their teacher who had been staying at a home stay in Oakville, Ontario, Canada! Eeeekkkkk.....
Osaka school holds assembly to explain new-flu infections to students
OSAKA —
An Osaka Prefecture-run high school held an assembly Saturday to explain developments after two of its students and a teacher were found on their return from a trip abroad Friday to have caught the new strain of influenza in the first cases of the new flu in Japan. Masato Nakanishi, chief of the Osaka prefectural education board, told reporters that the school in Neyagawa, Osaka, will remain open as usual as students who did not take part in the trip are unlikely to be infected with the disease.
The two 16-year-old students and the 46-year-old teacher had been staying in Oakville, Canada, from April 24 on a short-term study program. In the face of reports about the spread of the new flu in Canada, the school sent 50 masks to the group of students there. They did not wear the masks as there were not many local residents wearing them, school officials said. ‘‘It may have led to a different result if they had wore masks,’’ the school principal told reporters.Japan Today...
The best way to describe the Japanese Media's way of dealing with the H1N1 situation up until this point has been frenzied hysteria. It's only going to get worse from now on! By the way, what is the level beyond "frenzied hysteria"? "Shitting your pants everywhere panic"??? I'm not sure!
Of course...I almost forgot, check out my latest You Tube creation!
Weird Crap under a Bridge
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