Phil to the Rescue! - Plane Crash in Kanazawa

Japan Today

A light single-engine plane made an emergency landing on a road construction site in Kanazawa City in Ishikawa Prefecture on Friday afternoon. The plane, which was piloted by a 60-year-old British man, was on a flight from Niigata to Hiroshima.



A friend of ours, Phil, saw the crash and searched online for information about the crash and followed an electronic bread-crumb trail to information about the pilot. Eventually he was able to contact the pilot and even assist him with his abrupt stay in Kanazawa. Apparently the pilot was a bit of a wanker, but perhaps I can get Phil to comment on that himself.

School Festival 2005

One of my students, Tomonori, just gave me some pictures he took from our school festival last month. The kids work really hard to put together exhibits of their work, entertainment, and lots of festival-type foods. I really love the weekend. It gives us a chance to see the students in a totally different context.

Back to work

- whip crack -

Well, so far so good. One more class left to go today, and thankfully it's with my M1 class - they're a great bunch of guys. We're starting the future tense in class. Yea! I almost forgot, Happy Thanksgiving.



What am I thankful for?

I'm thankful that (as things look so far) the wedding is still on for next summer.

I'm thankful that my back hasn't given out in the past year and a half.

I'm thankful for a great family back home (most of whom are having a killer dinner together).

I'm thankful that my G4 laptop is holding together.

I'm thankful for my job.

I'm thankful that our three newest fry (baby fish) haven't been eaten yet.

I'm thankful that my cold is slowly subsiding.

I'm thankful for having discovered Bittorrent this past year.

I'm thankful that the American public is waking up to the incompetence of George W.

I'm thankful for mikan (Japanese oranges).

Vacation! -?

Well, I officially have the next three days off... to do whatever. Hyun-joo and I went for a quick ride yesterday to Katya's for brunch.



Maybe I'll go for a long bike ride today. It's cold, but very sunny out. Then I'll have to go to work to get stuff finished for Thursday and Friday classes. Ugh.

Crashed after Brunch

No, not physically thank goodness.



I just finished vacuuming after I got back from Katya's. We went out this morning to have brunch over at her place. She made (lots) of whole wheat waffles. We brought stuff for strawberry-bannana smoothies and Sheryl brought the mimosas.



Mary Lynne, who also works at KTC, was there and we just hung out, ate, and chatted on a beautiful Fall Sunday. Strange, if I were back home in Vermont, I might have easily taken off for the woods to go hiking, especially on a day like today. Well, I'm still trying to kick this cold. Crap this thing had me whipped. I just gotta get rid of it before classes begin this Thursday.



And lots to do... get ready for the new term, finish a project for Bunch, digital errands, etc. But all's well... and I just found out that I CAN call my brother on his cell phone. Aside from the time difference, it's so easy to keep in touch with the VOIP phone lines. Yahoo for technology!

The Wedding Site?

Got up pretty early for a Sunday... 8am. But it was worth it. Hyun-joo had to get in touch with a wedding coordinator about our newest plans. Looks like we're gonna have the ceremony and reception at the Blue Sky Villa. It's a package deal that now requires lots of customizing to get it to our liking. Hyun-joo is doing a fantastic job and more than I'd imagined.

She really likes the feel of one of the weddings they showcase on their website.

Daily Yomiuri Newspaper Article on JALT 2005

Doreen found an article in the Daily Yomiuri Online website about the JALT 2005 Conference in Shizuoka.

I co-presented at the The Japan Association for Language Teaching Conference with Doreen Gaylord. It was my first experience presenting in front of fellow teachers and others related to the language education field here in Japan. Our presentation was titled "Karaoke in Your Classroom". Here is an excerpt from the article:

A unique presentation titled "Karaoke in Your Classroom" was given by Doreen Gaylord and Kent Matsueda of Kanazawa Technical College. They used karaoke-like song presentations to teach grammar, vocabulary and culture. They showed how they had made their original teaching materials using PowerPoint and demonstrated how to teach the present perfect using the song "Never Been to Spain." Another song, "Saturday in the Park," was used to explain Fourth of July traditions in the United States.

We had a great time presenting together. About 30 folks showed up including about 8-10 friends of ours from the Kanazawa area. We handed out printed and electronic materials on CD-R's so that everyone walked away with samples of the project.

The presenting process required a lot of preparation, but was a definitely positive experience. I look forward to presenting again.

What is time?

Hyun-joo and I were having an interesting discussion about the nature of time and the possibility of time travel. I found a couple articles on the subject...

Traveling Through Time

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Time

How Time Works

A Brief History of Time

A little something on Superstring Theory

Kent's Movie List

Updated 28 March 2007
Legend:
(mpg) - movie is in MPEG-x format, various qualities
(VCD) - Video CD, another MPEG format
(字幕) - movie is DVD quality and features Japanese Subtitles
(quality) - "Thailand Special" DVD
(PSP) - an MPEG-4 video formatted for viewing on the PSP
(PAL) - as opposed to NTSC, warning not playable on American TV's
* - not yet burned to archive

101 Things Removed from the Human Body (mpg)
2010: The Year We Make Contact
24 Seasons 1-2, 4 (mpg)
24 Season 3: Disks 1-9 (字幕)
28 Days Later (字幕)
40 Year Old Virgin (mpg)
A Bug's Life (字幕)
The Abyss (字幕)
Aeon Flux 101-310 (mpg)
Aeon Flux 2006 (mpg)
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (字幕)
The Alamo (字幕)
Ali G In Da House (字幕)
Alien
Alien III
Alien: Resurrection
Aliens: Special Edition
Alive (字幕)
Alfie (mpg)
Amelie: Disk 1 & Disk 2
American Movie
The Amityville Horror 2005 (mpg)
Anaconda (字幕)
Anchorman (PSP)
Armageddon
Arrested Development: MTV Unplugged (jimaku)
Apocalypse Now (jimaku)
Apollo 13 (jimaku)
Asteroids - Serenity (mpg)
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (jimaku)
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Austin Powers: Goldmember
Avalon (mpg)
The Aviator (PAL)
Babel (mpg)
Back to the Future (jimaku)
Back to the Future Trilogy (VCD)
Bad Boys 2 (mpg)
Bad Education (mpg)
Band of Brothers Series
Baraka
Barrier Reef Scuba Dive (PSP)
The History Channel: Battleships (mpg)
Battlestar Galactica 2003: TV Mini-series Parts 1-2 (mpg)
Battlestar Galactica 2004: 101-220 (mpg)
Battlestar Galactica 2004: Inside (mpg)
Be Cool (PSP)
Before Sunrise (VCD)
The Benchwarmers (mpg)
Best in Show
Bicentennial Man (jimaku)
Big Fish (jimaku)
Black Hawk Down
Blade (jimaku)
Blade II: Disc 1 & Disk 2
Blade Trinity (mpg)
The Blair Witch Project
Blood Diamond (mpg)
Blow (jimaku)
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch II
Boondock Saints (mpg)
Born from Ice
The Bourne Identity (jimaku)
The Bourne Supremacy (excellent)
Bride of Frankenstein (jimaku)
Brokeback Mountain (mpg)
Brotherhood of the Wolf (excellent)
Brothers Grimm (jimaku)
Bruce Almighty (jimaku)
The Blue Planet (mpg w/ jimaku)
The Butterfly Effect (full screen, excellent)
The Butterfly Effect 2 (mpg)
Cars (mpg)
Casino Royale (mpg)
The Cell
Charlie's Angels
Chicken Little (mpg)
Chocolat
Cliffhanger
Closer (jimaku)
Cold Mountain (jimaku)
Commando
Conspiracy Theory (jimaku)
Contact
Contact (字幕)
Control (mpg)
The Count of Monte Cristo (jimaku)
Cradle 2 the Grave (jimaku)
Crank (mpg)
Crash
The Crimson Rivers
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
CSI Episode 514 (mpg)
The Daily Show 10/4/05 & 10/6/05 (mpg)
Dawn of the Dead (jimaku)
The Day After Tomorrow (jimaku)
DaVinci Code
Deadwood Seasons 1-2 (mpg)
The Deer Hunter (jimaku)
Deep Blue (jimaku)
Deep Impact (jimaku)
The Departed (mpg)
The Devil Wears Prada (mpg)
Doctor Who Season 101 (mpg)
Dodgeball (mpg)
Dogma (jimaku)
Domino (jimaku)
Donnie Darko (jimaku)
The Doors (jimaku)
The Dark Crystal
Dracula
The Dream is Alive
The Dukes of Hazzard (mpg)
Dumb and Dumber
Dungeons and Dragons: 101-12
Eddie Murphy: Delirious (mpg)
Eight Below (mpg)
Electra (PAL)
Enemy Mine (mpg)
The Enforcer (Jet Li)
Enterprise Season 3-4 (mpg)
Envy (excellent, promotional copy)
Epoch
Equilibrium (jimaku)
Eragon (mpg)
Eternal Rays of Sunshine… (mpg)
Everest
Everest: The Death Zone
Excorcism of Emily Rose
Faith Rewarded
Family Guy 101-410 (mpg)
Fearless (mpg)
Fever Pitch
The Fifth Element (jimaku)
Final Fantasy: Disc 1 & Disc 2
Final Fantasy VII Advent Children (jimaku)
Finding Nemo (excellent)
Finding Neverland (VCD)
Firefly Season 1 (mpg)
Flags of Our Fathers (mpg)
Flight Plan (字幕)
Four Brothers (mpg)
The History Channel: Forbidden Places (mpg)
Galaxy Quest
Garden State (jimaku & mpg)
Gattaca
George Carlin Clips Collection (mpg)
Gladiator: Disc 1 & Disc 2 (& PSP)
God & Diva (jimaku)
Gone in 60 Seconds
Gothika (poor)
The Green Mile
The Grinch (jimaku)
The Grinch (for classroom)
The Good Shepherd (mpg)
Groundhog Day
The Grudge 2 (mpg)
The Guardian (mpg)
Happy Feet (mpg)
Harry Potter: Sorcerer's Stone (jimaku)
Harry Potter 2: Chamber of Secrets (jimaku)
Harry Potter 3: Prisoner of Azkaban (jimaku)
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (mpg)
Heckler & Koch MP7A1 (mpg)
Hero (jimaku)
History of Violence (mpg)
Hitch (mpg)
The Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy (screener)
Hostel (jimaku)
The Host (mpg w/ English subtitles)
Hotel (jimaku)
Hotel Hibiscus (jimaku)
Hotel Rwanda (mpg)
Howl's Moving Castle (mpg)
House of Flying Daggers (jimaku, excellent video, acceptable subtitles)
An Inconvenient Truth (mpg)
The Incredibles (PAL)
Indiana Jones 3: Last Crusade (jimaku & PSP)
Inside 911 (mpg)
Insideman (mpg)
The Interpreter (jimaku)
Into Thin Air
Iron Monkey
iRobot (jimaku)
Jackass: The Movie (excellent)
Jackass 2 (mpg & PSP)
Jarhead (mpg)
*Junkyard Wars: The Catapult Parts 1&2 (mpg)
Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World
Kikaida: Vol. 1-2
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (excellent video, poor audio)
King Arthur (full screen, acceptable)
King Kong 1933 (mpg)
Kingpin
Kiss of the Dragon
Koyaanisqatsi
Kung Fu Hustle (mpg & PSP)
Labyrinth
Lady in the Water (mpg)
The Ladykillers (jimaku)
Laputa (jimaku)
The Last Samurai (jimaku)
The League of Extraordinary Men (jimaku)
The Legend of Drunken Master
Leon, The Professional
Lethal Weapon
The Life Aquatic (mpg)
The Lion King Special Edition (jimaku & PSP)
Little Miss Sunshine (mpg)
Lost Season 1 (mpg)
Lost Season 1: Desinations (mpg)
Lost Season 201-22 (mpg)
Lost Season 2 Special: Revelations (mpg)
Lost in Translation (excellent)
LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring: Ext Ver. Disk 1 & Disk 2
LOTR: The Two Towers
LOTR: The Two Towers: Ext Ver. Disk 1 & Disk 2
Lord of War (mpg)
Lucky Number Slevin (mpg)
The History Channel: The M-16 Rifle (mpg)
MacGyver: 57 (mpg)
The Machinist (mpg)
The Matrix
The Matrix 2 Reloaded (jimaku)
The Matrix 3 Revolutions (jimaku)
Me, Myself & Irene
Meet the Parents
Meet the Fockers (mpg)
Memento
Memoirs of a Geisha (mpg)
Miss Congeniality (mpg)
Mission: Impossible (jimaku)
M:I2 (jimaku)
Mission: Impossible 3 (mpg)
Monster House (mpg)
Monsters, INC: Disc 1 & Disc 2
The Motorcycle Diaries (mpg)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (mpg)
Mt. Fuji 26K Longboard (mpg)
The Mummy (jimaku)
The Mummy Returns (jimaku)
Munich (mpg)
The Muppet Show Clips Collection (mpg)
The Muppet Show Season 1-5 (mpg)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Mythbusters Season 1-2
Mythbusters Season 302-12
Mythbusters Special Myths Revisited 2
Mythbusters Special: Jaws
Nacho Libre (mpg)
National Treasure (mpg)
Nausicaa: Disk 1 & Disk 2 (jimaku)
Nightmare Before Christmas (mpg)
Nil By Mouth (mpg)
Ninja Scroll (PAL)
Oceans Eleven (jimaku)
Ocean’s Twelve (poor)
October Sky (jimaku)
Office Space
The One (jimaku)
One Night with Blue Note (jimaku)
Onmiyouji (jimaku)
Onmiyouji 2 (jimaku)
Open Season (mpg)
Open Water (jimaku)
Orgazmo (mpg)
Out of Time (jimaku)
Outlaw Josey Wales (jimaku)
Over the Hedge (mpg)
Over There 101-113 (mpg)
Pale Rider (jimaku)
Phuket Homevideo (mpg)
The Pink Panther Collection (mpg)
The Pick of Destiny (mpg)
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pitch Black
Poseidon (mpg)
The Postman (jimaku)
Powaqqatsi
Predator
The Prestige (mpg)
Pride and Prejudice (jimaku)
Princess Mononoke (jimaku)
Promises (mpg, full screen w/ subtitles)
Pulp Fiction (jimaku)
The Punisher (mpg)
Raising Arizona
Ran (jimaku)
Ray (mpg)
Reign of Fire
Resident Evil (jimaku)
Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse (excellent)
The Ring
Robots (screener)
Rocky Balboa (mpg)
Romeo + Juliet (jimaku)
Run Lola Run
The Running Man
Sahara (DVD & mpg)
The Saturday Night Live Clips Collection (mpg)
Saw (jimaku)
Saw 2 (jimaku)
Saw 3 (mpg)
School House Rock: Disk 1 & Disk 2
School of Rock (excellent DVD & jimaku)
Scrubs Season 1 (mpg)
The Score
The Secret of NIMH
The Sentinel (mpg)
Serenity (mpg)
Seven (jimaku)
Seven Samurai (jimaku)
Shallow Hal (jimaku)
Shark Tale (excellent, laptop playable)
The Shining
Six Feet Under Seasons 1-508 (mpg)
Shootout! Battle for Baghdad (mpg)
short6 (jimaku)
Sideways (mpg & VCD)
Signs (jimaku)
The Silence of the Lambs
The Simpson’s: Season 1-4
Sin City (mpg)
Slam
Snakes on a Plane (mpg)
Sniper (jimaku)
The History Channel: Snipers, One Shot, One Kill (mpg)
The History Channel: Snipers (mpg)
Solar Challenge Videos (mpg)
Something’s Gotta Give (jimaku)
South Park: Season 1-9 (mpg)
Spanglish (mpg)
Spawn (jimaku)
Spider-man: Disc 1 & Disc 2
Spider-man 2 (excellent, full screen)
Spinal Tap
Spirited Away (jimaku)
Spy Kids (excellent)
Stan - Eminem (mpg)
Stargate: Director’s Cut (mpg)
Starship Troopers (mpg)
Starship Troopers 2 (mpg)
Star Trek, The Next Generation: Season 1
Star Trek: Vol I-III
Star Trek Voyager Season 1-7 (mpg)
Star Wars 2: Attack of the Clones (PSP)
Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Sith
Starsky & Hutch (poor)
Stealth (jimaku)
StoreWars (mpg)
Stuck on You (excellent)
Sublime (mpg)
Super Size Me (excellent)
Superman & The Mechanical Monsters (mpg)
SWAT (jimaku)
Swimming Pool (jimaku)
Swordfish
Taking Lives (jimaku)
Talledega Nights (mpg)
Taxi (excellent, promo copy)
Team America (mpg)
Terminator 2 (jimaku)
Terminator 3 (jimaku)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (jimaku)
That 70's Show: Season 2 (mpg)
Thirteen Days
Titanic (jimaku)
To Maui (PSP)
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (jimaku)
Total Recall
Touching the Void (mpg)
Traffic
Trailer Park Boys Season 1 (mpg)
TransAmerica (mpg)
The Transporter (jimaku)
Troy (jimaku)
Typhoon
Typhoon (mpg w/ English subtitles)
The Twilight Zone: Vol 1, Disks 1-9
The Twilight Zone Movie (mpg)
U-571 (jimaku, no subtitles for spoken German!)
The History Channel: UFO’s, The Day After Roswell (mpg)
Ultraviolet (mpg)
Unbreakable w/ Special Features
Undercover Brother (jimaku)
Underworld (poor DVD & jimaku)
Unleashed (mpg)
V for Vendetta (mpg)
Van Helsing (jimaku)
Vertical Limit
The Village (excellent & mpg)
Wanted Season 1 (mpg)
War of the Worlds (jimaku)
Wasabi
Waterworld (jimaku)
Whale Rider
Whole 10 Yards (jimaku)
The Wizard of OZ
X-Men (jimaku)
X2: X-Men United
X-Men: The Last Stand (mpg)
The X Files: Season 7 (jimaku)
The X Files: First Person Shooter (mpg)
XXX (Vin Diesel)
Y Tú Mama Tambien (subtitled)
You, Me and Dupree (mpg)
Zatoichi (jimaku)
Zoolander

Happy Halloween!

Well it's a little late, but here's a great site Chieko linked me to for making your own virtual jack-o-lantern.