An Explosion of Language

My son is now almost two and a half years old and recently has been speaking quite a bit. He says things at night like, “Daddy, go to bed?” “Daddy, boat coming!” “Kai, neh neh (baby talk for sleep in Japanese).” He also speaks a lot more in Japanese, his first language. His language has been progressing at a very surprising and exciting pace.

I started a three-week vacation about three weeks ago (sadly only one day left before I head back to school). I have been spending a great deal of time with my son during that period. Both my wife and I have noticed a sudden explosion of language in the last month and luckily I have been present to enjoy so much of it.

The amazing thing that has happened is he can now express his needs and wants in English and Japanese. He was able to tell us what he wanted Santa Claus to bring him for Christmas (Santa got him the TOMICA City parking garage set he so desired).

He can also use both his English and Japanese to play with Mom and Dad. The other day he walked up to me, placed some toy food on the table and said, “Daddy, eat this.” His favorite phrase in the past few days has been “Come here Daddy” which he has said at least thirty five thousand times!

I think my mind was really blown the other day when my son said, “Daddy, two boys going over there.” I looked up and sure enough, there were two young boys running across the street in front of us!

I realize that often children in Canada, where I am from, at my son’s age may be able to communicate more, but my son has to process twice the information. He doesn’t just have to learn the word “cat” for example. He must learn that Daddy says “cat” and Mommy says, “neko” (my wife is Japanese).

Language switching:

This is another impressive thing (in my eyes as a father) that amazes me. When I am alone with my son, he pretty much only speaks English. When he is with his mother, he pretty much only speaks Japanese, the language he can communicate more in. When we are together as a family, he mixes it all together and at this point, really only his mother knows exactly what he is saying.

I suppose that in the little world that is “my family”, we are going through some fun and exciting times.

As someone who was raised in a unilingual household, it is amazing to see someone raised bilingual. It’s like looking into a new world!

You can follow me on Twitter: @jlandkev

Raising a Bilingual Child - 2 Years Old

This is a follow up to my original blog post about raising a bilingual child.

If you are a follower of this blog you already are aware of my situation, but if you are a new reader (and thank you very much for reading), I’ll fill you in a little on my situation. 

I am a Canadian teacher working at an international school in Japan. My wife is Japanese and we have a two year, one month old son who we are raising to be bilingual. We want him to be able to speak both Japanese and English. He is a duwl Canadian/Japanese citizen so we want him to have the skills and knowledge to function in both cultures/societies.

My son’s language abilities are coming along very well. I am actually quite surprised at how much he is able to speak and understand in both Japanese and English. I have worked as a teacher for eleven years and at my current school there is a day care. I have observed many children who are a similar age to my son and the majority do not speak as much as my son does. I don’t think he is a “linguistic prodigy” or anything like that, but I have a few ideas to why he speaks so much.

First of all, my son is always surrounded by language. Simply put, my wife talks to him a lot. She speaks to him and very importantly, listens and responds to him. Although I am not an expert and haven’t studied the topic a great deal, from my many years as a teacher I have noticed that the children who have the widest language bases, seem to have parents who engage them a lot linguistically. Many of the children I have met who speak very little, have parents who tend not to speak to them much. Also, I have noticed that many children who struggle even with their native language have parents who “talk at them” ns not “ to them.” They simple command them around and never really have conversations and listen to their child’s responses.

My wife is doing a great job at engaging our son. I try my best as well when I am home, but sometimes my work schedule doesn’t allow me to be at home as much as I would like.

Another thing that has been working very well is the fact that my wife is always actively teaching and asking questions to my son. She is constantly asking him, “What’s this?” Whether they are looking at a storybook, magazine, television or outside of the house in the “real world”, she is constantly engaging and teaching him. I basically try to follow her lead. Her form of teaching seems to be working well so I’m going with the flow!

It has become very clear and to know surprise that Japanese has become my son’s first language. When he does speak in Japanese I just translate in my brain and repeat what he said in English. In doing this I have realized that my own Japanese level is very low and I have to begin studying again so I can attempt to keep up with my son.

I’m hunting for more English dvds for my son as well. I realize that listening to any English is good, but I am hunting for ones that can help him learn meaningful language. Of course, watching English television is not the best option, but some weeks I work six days and a dvd is better than nothing.

At the moment I am home for the next eight days. This is a great chance for me to speak a lot to my son. This is a great opportunity for me to engage my son in English.

I better get going, he’s awake now. Time to talk!

Here is a video blog I shot yesterday morning. It's an unusual style for me. You can follow my son and I during our morning together.

Don't Step in the Shit

Don't step in the shit! Why not? Isn't the shit the stuff that's going to get you all the viewers on You Tube and al of the readers on your blog? Well, what I mean by "shit" is controversy. Controversy is something that gets people watching videos on your video blog or reading your blog posts. Being edgy and controversial is interesting if done well. It is exciting if thought through. Controversial views are often the key to success in the world of content creation. Being a hot young lady also works if you are on You Tube!

As a mid 30-something guy, my hot lady days are far behind me. Come to think of it, they never existed. So, what is a mid 30-something Canadian blogger with a receding hairline to do in order to get tens of thousands of people to read my posts and millions to watch his videos? I could take my shirt off! Wait a second...that might cause a violent physical reaction known as "vomiting." I could simply show more cleavage! Wait a second....my chest hair might impede the view.

What's a guy to do?

Ah....that's right. I can get edgy and controversial. BUUUUTTT...I don't want to. I don't want that sort of attention. Don't get me wrong. I love attention. If I didn't love attention I never would have become a drama freak in university or done improv theatre after university. I never would have played music in so many bands. If I didn't love attention I wouldn't have three You Tube channels and this blog. I wouldn't be such a Twitter whore (btw...you can follow me here)!

In the past I have made some edgy videos and they have done well. A lot of people watched them. On a former blog, I used to write some edgy posts and many people read them. The problem was and I'm sure still would be that I attracted negative attention. I was noticed by normal readers and viewers, but at the same time I was noticed by internet trolls.

More than fours years ago I was in the Canadian capital city of Ottawa and there were duel protests on Parliament Hill (Canadian houses of government). There were are very large number of pro-China supporters and some Free-Tibet people (with heavy police protection) a block away. This was just before the Beijing Olympics. I shot a video of each group and as I did, shared some of my thoughts on the issues at hand. That night I posted the video and went to sleep. The next morning I awoke to thousands of hits which I initially thought was very cool. Then I noticed that I had dozens of very insane/nationalistic/threatening comments on my page by Chinese netizens. Some of my loyal viewers tried to support me in the comment section and then they were attacked by large numbers of netizens. After a few days of FAR TOO MUCH ATTENTION, I decided it would be in the best interest of my You Tube channel to just pull the video down. I didn't post another video for a few weeks and by then, the storm had calmed.

A few years later, while here in Japan, I made a video defending English teachers in South Korea. I worked there for more than five years and it is pretty common knowledge that there are certain nationalistic segments of society there that like to use teachers as scapegoats. There has also been a history of tabloid journalists there doing the same. I made a very frank and abrasive video (I was pissed off at the time about the topic) defending teachers and "poo pooing" their detractors. I posted the video and it immediately began to get lots of hits. Soon after that though, I started to attract the trolls. I left that video up for more than a year though. I didn't care, but every once and awhile a very nasty and persistent troll would rear his ugly head.

Fast forward to now. In 2012, I am still an attention whore. I would love for my videos and blog posts to all be popular and viral. Heck, I'd love to even be able to make a living doing this hobby that I love so much! BUT….I now refuse to be controversial. Well, a little edgy is ok. Some bloggers and video bloggers obviously pander to their audiences and only say positive things. Some never speak their minds freely.

I intend to speak my mind, but I never go looking for a fight. What is the point? I am not a very angry person. At times I become a little disgruntled about things in life, but we all do. I don't want to get myself noticed because I am negative or angry. I'm just not that sort of person. I suppose I could pretend to be angry and that would probably get some hits. Many people have online personas and it works for them. In my case though, that just isn't the "angle" I am shooting for. In fact, I don't have an angle. I'm just Kevin sharing his non-angry thoughts with all of you folks out there.

Being controversial definitely works if you want to be noticed online. BEWARE though. With all that attention, some negatives are bound to be included!

The Accidental Teacher?

Teaching is what I do. Teaching is what I do to earn a living for myself and my family. I am a teacher at a school five days a week and a teacher at home the other two. I suppose I am a teacher at home everyday. Everyday I'm attempting to teach my son how to speak, how to have fun, how to walk and how to not throw and break everything he can get his hands on.

As I look back on my adult life, a younger Kevin could have never imagined himself becoming a teacher. I remember, while in my early twenties, my older brother graduating from an Education program and getting his first job as a teacher. I remember his tales of the classroom and I thought to myself, "I could never do what he does." Fast forward many years and here I am. A professional teacher with a teaching degree and a license. I never would have thought it.

What happened?

How did I become something I thought I could never do?

I suppose I knew fairly quickly that I liked teaching. My first class of young learners was in a city called Ilsan in South Korea. I was their language teacher and it was early 2002. After the initial few months of shock wore off (having a room full of six year olds run me ragged), I felt like this was a fun job. After all, I had been a performer (singer, actor, general clown) in years past and in a way, I was taking a stage everyday when I walked into that classroom. Everyday I was standing in front of a small audience and having to captivate and excite them. I had to hold their attention and entertain them. More importantly, I had to teach them something of value.

After some years of that I knew that teaching was the profession for me. I saved my money, applied to Education programs in Canada and eventually received my teaching credentials.

Now I am here in Japan doing what I think I do best. I'm teaching a group of intelligent and funny little people (I don't mean dwarves) everyday. There are of course ups and downs. Sometimes the downs can be really low and often the ups are very high.

As look at the future, I sometimes get more than a little down though. I am a Canadian who misses home. I want to take my skills and use them in classrooms in Canada. Sadly though, there seem to be too many people deciding to become teachers every year. I know that I will be able to find a classroom somewhere, but it probably won't be the place I want to go. Then again, maybe it will be! I think the next few years will lead me and my family down some very interesting and exciting paths for sure.

For the time being though, I am here, in Japan doing the think I know I am meant to do. I'm teaching.




Here are a couple of pictures from 2005 when I was teaching adult students at a school in downtown Seoul South Korea. I only taught adult learners for one year, but it was an enjoyable experience.




In the theme of teaching, the other day, while commuting home from school I thought about making a video tutorial. What could I make one about? The answer was clear. I make lots of videos on You Tube about Asian food. Why not make one about how to eat the stuff? Here is my first ever video tutorial, "How to use chopsticks."


You can find me on TWITTER: @jlandkev

Babies, Videos and Writer's Blahhhh...

Hey there folks! I hope you are all doing extremely well and I of course want to thank each and every one of you for simply being so awesome!

I think all my readers are great. All of the fine folks who watch my video blogs are great and in general....hmmm....what was I talking about? Lost my train of though....

The Japanese Obon holiday season is over and I was back to work today. During the past nine days I didn't have to deal with work. It was nice. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with work, but as we all know, vacation is simply often better than work. I spent a lot of time playing with my son and even more time not working on my book about teaching in Korea and Japan. Now that I am back into my weekly work routine, I will begin writing again. Actually, I already wrote a little today. It felt good.

I'm also struggling to get back into running regularly. The amount of heat we have had this summer has really put me off and family life has also made it difficult to find time to run. Long distance running when you have a baby at home isn't always the easiest thing to juggle.


This past week, I've been focused mostly on this guy. Running and writing will be there anytime, but having the chance to be with my son as he learns to walk will only happen once.


Last Saturday was the day for three small festivals in my neighborhood. Sadly it rained all day, but that didn't kep many of the local kids from having fun!


There was to be dancing in the evening at this festival, but heavy rains closed things up earlier than most would have liked!

TV shows I loved that my son probably won't!

Yesterday, while sitting home with my son, watching him watch television, I began to think more and more about my favorite television shows as a child. My early childhood through elementary days were in the late 1070's and into the 1980's. Most of the shows I grew up watching and loving so much are no longer even in the world of reruns, let alone available for me to watch here in Japan.

I realize that with the wonders of modern tech such as torrents, iTunes and dvds, I can probably watch most of the shows I did when i was young, but I have a feeling my son won't. Times change and with them do tastes. Some shows I think have a definite charm that children will always be attracted to. Just a few years ago i remember finding some episodes of Sharon, Lois and Bram's The Elephant Show (a Canadian TV show from the 1980's) on You Tube. I played them on the computer during a few lunch periods and my kindergarten class (mostly Japanese kids) were for the most part, mesmorized by it and angry when i had to shut it off! The power of good children's programming had crossed time and culture!

I thought about some of my favorite shows that I loved throughout my pre-school years right through elementary school.

Here is my list of shows I loved as a kid:


The Elephant Show was a kids variety show by the iconic Canadian children's singers Sharon, Lois and Bram.



Mr. Dressup was another iconic Canadian children's show. I remember excitedly watching this every weekday morning in my preschool days!




MASH was a fun show. I have clear memories of watching this show with my entire family. Again I watched it so many times in reruns as an older kid and an adult.



Just Like Mom was a Canadian game show where teams of mothers and their children were pitted against each other. They had to see how well they knew each other. I always thought it was a lot of fun!



The Friendly Giant....nuff said!



The Edison Twins. Kids solving mysteries using science. Too cool!!!! This was another Canadian TV show (you probably all know that I am a Canadian).



The Kids of Degrassi Street. A Canadian children's show about the lives of a group of children growing up in Toronto.



Degrassi Junior High. The Kids of Degrassi street got older and their lives got a lot more complicated!



The A-Team. They were bad-ass!



Wok With Yan. Yep! I loved a cooking show. The host was just damn funny! Another Canadian show.



You can follow me on Twitter: @jlandkev

They made you eat poop?

Kids are funny. There is no other way to put it. Kids are funny because kids are honest. They are far more honest than you or I will ever be. They have yet to learn about social norms and boundaries. They have not yet learned that one might offend another or hurt another’s feelings by telling the truth sometimes.

Kids are innocent and kids are honest. Kids call it as they see it.

Here’s a story about that:

Adventures in Japan

I've had a few extra days off from work this week and have been spending a lot more time than usual with my family. It has been wonderful and has definitely made the week much better.

As many readers of this blog may already know, I am a huge fan of the Instagram iPhone app. I decided to start taking a series of pictures of my son and calling them Baby Adventures in Japan. I have been taking them in various locations we've been to throughout the week and just have two rules: 1. Make the shot cool. 2. Don't show his face. I'm not trying to be super secretive since I have in the past shared pictures of my son. I just thought it would be a cool way to snap some fun shots.


Here's the first Baby Adventure in Japan:

"Baby Adventures at IKEA"




By the way, HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY son!!!! It was a wonderful day!

Perspectives: Where I was and where I'm going

I actually have a little free time this evening to write (I actually starting writing this post last week) so I decided to respond to my friend Dimitri. He wrote a recent blog post called Perspectives. He asked the question, where were you one, five, ten years ago? Where might we be one, five, ten years from now?

Here is my perspective:

- 10 years ago: I was living in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. I was recently graduated from a technical school program in 3D graphics and electronic game design. I was working as a junior 3D modeler and texture artist at a small game development studio. My job was exciting and stressful at the same time. I enjoyed many aspects of it, but was longing for travel and a life filled with a little more adventure. I was contemplating some sort of big change. I was searching websites and investigating the option of getting a tech job overseas, maybe Ireland.

- 5 years ago: I was living and working in Busan, South Korea as a teacher at a large school chain called CDI. I had a wonderful girlfriend who I met in Busan, but wasn’t Korean. She was a Japanese woman from Osaka. We were pretty serious and talking about a future together. I had also been accepted into a teacher education program at the University of Ottawa in Canada. I was looking forward to starting there the following year.

- 1 year ago: I had finished school in Canada and was a full-fledged teacher. I was starting my third year at a school in Kobe, Japan where I was living. The Japanese woman I was dating in Korea was now my wife and we were just weeks away from expecting our first child. Life was interesting and about to get more interesting!


- Today: I still live in Kobe, Japan with my wife and a cute little son who is about to turn one! I still work at the same school teaching children and have learned a lot about fatherhood. Like all new parents, my life has completely changed. I also have a new passion. I have combined running with charity and spend the time I used to on You Tube video blogging, on raising awareness and trying to raise funds for Save the Children Japan. I also plan to branch out and do even more charity work.


- 1 year later: Not sure about that. I may be preparing for my return to Canada. My teaching career in Canada is calling me. I could possibly be in the midst of moving and relocation preparations. Then again, maybe not!

- 5 years later: I will be living in Canada with my family. We will be living in our first house and my son will enjoy running around in the backyard. I will be using my teaching talents and abilities to help young learners in my own country and working hard to run and help various charitable organizations. I will also be preparing to head to the Sahara Desert in Morrocco to run the Marathon des Sables for the first time!

- 10 years later: I will be taking a leave of absence from my teaching job back home to spend a couple of years working at a large international school in Japan again. My children will be enrolled in the public school system here for a few years to help them improve their Japanese and get in touch with their Japanese culture!


You can follow me on Twitter: @jlandkev

Disappointment, Sunsets and Red Lights

A busy week for me, but then again, every week seems busy. When you work six days a week, are training for a marathon and have a family, time must be scheduled very carefully!

A little disappointment for me on Friday. I was notified by the Tokyo Marathon that I was not selected to run in next year's race. As with many large marathons, runners are selected in a lottery. With 30,000 spots and almost 10 times as many people applying I was lucky to get in last year, but this year my luck had run out. Regardless, i have two marathons to run in the next two months and am thinking about running an ultra marathon next Spring.

It has been a beautiful weekend here in Kobe, Japan. Check out a few pictures I took last night from my balcony. The sunset was amazing!





On my way home from work yesterday afternoon, I got off the train and did some running. I ran past a rather seedy alley and decided to explore. Check out the video I made about my explorations!

Canadian Thanksgiving

Much to the surprise of most Americans I meet or talk to, today was Thanksgiving somewhere else! That's right. Today was Thanksgiving Monday in Canada. As coincidence would have it, it is Sports Day in Japan, a national holiday, so I had a long weekend just like folks back home in Canada. Although mine was for different reasons, I'll take what i can get without complaining.

I celebrated the occasion by having a great day with my family and making a little Thanksgiving meal for my wife and I. I used chicken instead of turkey since it is so expensive here in Japan. I plan to buy a turkey for Christmas this year since we will be staying in Japan for the holiday.


Here is my Thanksgiving dinner pre-gravy. I made mashed potatoes with chicken and an assortment of stir-fried veggies.


Add some amazing 3 pepper gravy and you have a feast fit for a king.


The gravy was a Canadian delight I picked up last Christmas while visiting may family. I brought back a bag of various gravy-type mixes and have been using the sparingly throughout the year!


I made the weekend a little more special yesterday by running 30 km as part of my marathon training. it was a hard go on such a warm day. Lots of people were barbecuing along the way and at times I had trouble maintaining my focus and motivation. At the end of the run I was glad I did it of course knowing that I am one big step closer to being prepared for my full marathon in a few weeks in Osaka.


My run was all over the place, but one nice area past Nada-ku is along a storm drain/river. This was fairly close to Mikage Station. There were a lot of people having cook outs and generally loafing about on this river.

Check out this little video blog I made with my iPhone during my long run yesterday.




Here is another video I put up online last night about cool Starbucks coffee cups. This is only part of my collection.


I ran a total of 78 km last week and I will see if I can keep this weeks distance in the same range.


Random Japan news time:



Husband, grandfather, retiree – and a Japanese porn star
It’s said that everyone has a secret. What was unique about Shigeo Tokuda’s fib was that everything he wasn’t telling his wife and daughter was on recorded on hundreds of videos, and that thousands of admirers knew exactly who he was and what he was trying to hide.

For a long time, Mr. Tokuda was not just the world’s oldest porn star, he was perhaps its most anonymous. His family didn’t know where the 76-year-old really went and what he did when the retired travel agent pulled on his blazer and went off to “work” in the morning.

But among his fans – and there are enough of them to justify the making of at least one new film a month – Mr. Tokuda is the superstar of the rising genre of “elder porn,” movies that feature older actors (at least the male ones) and plotlines in which the growing number of Japanese senior citizens (again, at least the males) can picture themselves. His most famous role is as a senior citizen who acts anything but his age with an assortment of nurses, as well as with his twentysomething daughter-in-law.

Elder porn is a fast-growing industry in Japan, which has a population that is both the oldest in the world as well as the world’s second-largest consumers of pornography (after the United States). By his count, Mr. Tokuda has appeared in some 350 films, with another project – Prohibited Elderly Care Vol. 45 – already in production. Read more here at the Globe and Mail


Osaka brewer's stout named world's best in British contest
OSAKA - A.J.I. Beer Inc, a small brewer in Mino, Osaka Prefecture, has produced the “World’s Best Stout” for the second straight year in a British beer contest. Minoh Beer Imperial Stout, which contains 8% alcohol, is “silky textured with sweet rounded malt opening,” the organizers of the World Beer Awards said on their website.

“I have gained even more confidence,” said Masaji Oshita, president of A.J.I. Beer, adding that he will aim at winning the title again next year. Minoh Beer is produced once a year and the company will start accepting orders for the stout late this month, it said. Original at Japan Today

Canadian rock band Sum 41 singer hospitalized in Osaka after attack

Deryck Whibley, lead singer of the famous Canadian punk band Sum 41, and former husband of Avril Lavigne, has been hospitalized after a bar fight in Osaka last night. Band member reported on Twitter that he was attacked by three unknown Japanese men last night in a bar.

Sum 41 was performing a concert in Osaka. There were two remaining tour dates left in Osaka before the band was to play more show in the U.. and Europe.


Sum 41 singer and front man Deryck Whibley.

Here is some media coverage from CBC.


Canadian rock band Sum 41 singer hospitalized in Osaka after attack
TORONTO - The frontman for Canadian rock band Sum 41 was reportedly attacked Friday night in Japan and hospitalized with injuries.

The band said Friday on their website that Deryck Whibley was attacked late Friday night. They posted on their Twitter account that Whibley was attacked in a bar by three unknown people and Japanese police are investigating.

The band had two remaining tour dates scheduled in Osaka, before closing out the summer with shows in the U.S. and Europe.

The alleged attack follows Sum 41’s cancellation of several Warped Tour dates in the U.S. because Whibley had come down with a serious case of bronchitis.

Whibley, 30, was married to fellow Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne but the couple announced their separation last September. Japan Today

Fireworks Tonight in Kobe

Summer fireworks season is sweeping Japan. Tis hot, humid and time to sit outside with friends, beer, and pyrotechnics! Across Japan, every summer, people enjoy "hanabi" はなび which means fireworks. What is so great about hanabi is the fact that even small cities have very elaborate displays. Another great thing about the firework displays in Japan is the party atmosphere that goes with them. Many folks go with the school of though, "Why should I enjoy fireworks alone when I can enjoy them with booze!?"

During the previous two summers, my wife and I enjoyed the Kobe Fireworks from in front of Kobe Gakuin University 神戸学院大学 on Port Island in Kobe 神戸. This year however, we have a newborn baby. We will be watching the fireworks from our balcony and should have a good view. I will take some video later this evening to show all you folks out there. I have to admit that I am very excited to be watching fireworks for the first time with my son!

I am also pretty pleased today because I posted Episode 4 of my new podcast "Looks Like Canada." In episode 4 I looks at Popular and Weird Canadian Summer Festivals!


You can listen to/download the episode on the website (Looks Like Canada) or subscribe to the podcast directly on iTunes.



Although I will have new footage of this year's Kobe fireworks up online tomorrow, here is some footage from last year's fireworks for all of you to enjoy. I think this was before I bought my HD camera so bear with the quality!

Looks Like Canada Episode Two is worth a listen

Hey folks. Hope everyone is well out there. Kobe is hot. Kobe is very hot. When I say hot, I don't mean sexy hot. I mean, sweat your ass off hot. This summer is especially muggy and nasty! The cicadas are ear-piercing, the sweat towels are out in full force and every Japanese woman is packin their parasol!

I just wanted everyone to know that episode two of "Looks Like Canada" is online.

My new podcast takes a look at the AMAZING Canadian food....poutine!

Check out the latest episode of my podcast here!


Thanks a bunch folks.

Expect another great You Tube video coming this weekend. I accidentally stumbled across a custom motorcycle show last weekend while out for a walk. I filmed some of it with my iPhone.

Looks Like Canada: the Podcast

It is finally up and online. My latest project and one I will continue post-Japan (not leaving soon).


Looks Like Canada is a podcast about all things Canadian. It will be about Canadian history, food and culture. Looks Like Canada will be hosted by myself and sometimes I may conduct interviews or have guests. I will upload a new episode weekly and once the summer is over, I will upload on a strict schedule (of course with a newborn at home now it is hard to follow any schedule!).



Episode One is about the Canadian running icon, Johnny Miles. You can download the show or listen to it in your browser with Quicktime.

Looks Like Canada will be up on the iTunes store soon I hope.

Take car and check out my latest media project.

Things coming together

Hello one and all. Things in Kobe, Japan are sweaty and hot. That's right! We are in the midst of a heat wave here in japan and apparently it has already sent many folks to the hospital and a few to the grave!

As for good ole Kevin, i am busy with my newborn son. My little fella was born almost two weeks ago at Kobe General Hospital. he is very handsome, healthy and happy. He is also quite a handful for my wife and I! I suppose that is normal for any newborn baby and two first-time parents. It is a learning process that books and websites didn't prepare me for. I am learning though and enjoying it. I am also appreciating how much of a commodity time is. It is hard to get work done on my many media projects, but I am finding the time somehow.

I talk about that in my latest little video blog.

The project I am trying to get up and moving is something that I have been wanting to pursue for several years. I have put together a podcast. I put a lot of thought into the topic and I wanted it to be something I could do for a long time. I also wanted to create a podcast that would be relevant to me long after I had left Japan and moved either back to Canada or elsewhere.

This year marks more than eight years living abroad for me in Asia. With so much time living in other countries and being surrounded by other cultures, it has made me long for, appreciate and want to learn more about my own country. That's why my podcast will be about Canadian history, culture and food. No matter where I am in the world, I know that the topics will remain relevant to me!

The first episode is in the can and episode two will be finished this weekend. the website is almost up and running (it will be a constant work in progress though). I have also realized that I need to invest in a decent microphone, but I will do that in time and if people show an interest in the show!

Things will go live this weekend I hope, but having a newborn baby can often cause sudden changes to schedule!

When the podcast does go up, I will inform you all here, on Twitter and You Tube!

Waiting for Fatherhood and Honest Sumo Guys

Many things have been going on in the world of Kevin. The school term is coming to a close and the hectic month of June is a thing of the past. Report cards, parent-teacher meetings and student portfolios are all but a thing of the past. The only thing to do now is sit and wait for my little whipper-snapper to come along. As I write this post, my son is a few days late on arriving into the world. We are of course beside ourselves with excitement and nervousness waiting for his arrival!

In other news, the world of Sumo Wrestling in Japan has been turned on it's head with a major gambling scandal:

NHK decides not to broadcast sumo live due to gambling scandal
TOKYO - Public broadcaster NHK will not televise the July 11 to 25 Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament live due to a gambling scandal that has hit a number of sumo wrestlers and elders, NHK Chairman Shigeo Fukuchi said Tuesday.

Fukuchi said NHK decided not to broadcast the sumo tournament to be held at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium live, but, instead, to air the digest version of recorded sumo matches on TV and report the results of the matches on radio.

It is first time for NHK not to air a sumo tournament live on television in its history of broadcasting of sumo tourneys which started in 1953. The broadcaster started airing the events on radio in 1928.

Fukuchi said the broadcaster’s decision reflects viewers’ severe opinions on the gambling scandal rocking the ancient national sport.

‘‘The Japan Sumo Association has yet to present concrete steps for its reform,’’ he said. ‘‘At the same time, we have received a number of severe opinions from viewers. We have made a comprehensive and careful decision.’‘

‘‘We urge (the sumo association) to work for prompt reform of the organization,’’ he added.

About 70% of those who contacted NHK on the gambling scandal by Tuesday said they wanted it to cancel coverage of the tournament, according to NHK.

Acting JSA Chairman Hiroyoshi Murayama and other officials of the sumo governing body visited NHK’s headquarters office in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward Tuesday to ask the public broadcaster to show the upcoming sumo tournament on television.

At a meeting with the NHK chairman, the officials from the sumo association explained the body’s decision on Sunday to fire ozeki Kotomitsuki and stablemaster Otake and to impose other punishments on wrestlers and elders for being involved in gambling on professional baseball games which is alleged to be a funding source for gangsters.

They also vowed to implement measures to prevent a recurrence of the situation.

NHK made the decision not to air the event live after hearing what the JSA officials had to say.

Commercial TV stations used to air the digest of sumo tournaments in the past, but currently, NHK is the only broadcaster that airs the sumo events live.

According to NHK, it received opinions from about 11,100 viewers on the matter between June 14, when it began tallying them, and Sunday, with 68% expressing opposition to broadcasting the Nagoya tourney against 11% in favor of the coverage.
Read original at Japan Today


My desire to get into the world of podcasting has come back. I have been thinking a lot these days about a podcast I'd like to start (especially on my long runs at night) and the technical side of getting it up and running. I think it would be a new and fun media hobby to get involved in. When will I have the time to put things together? Good question. I think I will start building on my ideas and hopefully have something up and running this summer. If I run with the idea I have now, my podcast would be about a non-Japan one. I would probably focus more on Canada and other cultures. There are already some great podcasts about Japan and I don't want to paint myself into a corner. I want to give myself more options and a much larger potential audience. Recently, a viewer of my You Tube videos complained. He said that I should talk more about Japanese history in my videos. I told him that my channel isn't about Japan. It is about me! I just happen to live in Japan. I don't solely blog about Japan. I am a blogger/vlogger and Japan just happens to be my current, but not permanent backdrop!


RANDOM PICTURE TIME

Took this picture last week on a train platform! Loved it and was disgusted with the possibilities!

Canadian Thanksgiving in Kobe

Happy Thanksgiving to all you Canucks out there!

It is Thanksgiving and I am here in Japan. Although it is not as important a holiday as in the United States, it is still cool to have turkey and enjoy a day off. Ironically, today happens to be a national holiday here too. It is Sports Day.

Tonight I made a little Thanksgiving meal. Instead of turkey we had chicken. Some mashed potatoes and veggies as well. To top it all off, my awesome wife made a pumpkin pie for the first time. it was absolutely incredible. We bought all of the ingredients at Kaldi, a foreign food store here in Kobe.


The pumpkin pie to die for! It was and still is so amazing!


A great spread. I plan to have a big fill of turkey this December when I'm back in Canada for vacation.


Here is the plated meal. Some yummy stuff. Mashed potatoes, chicken, carrots, red bell peppers with asparagus.