2024/01/27(土)SMC
President's Remark: SM Kei Narisawa
Today, two American missionaries were with us at the meeting. Instead of the president's remark, we allotted much of the time for exchanging information of our languages and cultures. We focus our attention on how we translate the Japanese phrase '～するかぎり’ into English.
Word of the Day: SM Takahata
"drive"
[V]
(1) to make a car, truck, bus etc. move along
- I’m planning to drive to Hakone.
(2) to force a person or animal to go somewhere
- With a few loud whistles, they drove the donkeys out of the enclosure.
(3) to strongly influence someone to do something
-The detective wondered what had driven Christine to phone her.
(4) to make someone or something get into a bad or extreme state, usually an emotional one
- The mosquitoes drive me to distraction.
(5) to provide the power for a vehicle or machine
- an electrically-driven lawn mower
[N]
(1) a journey in a car
- Let’s go for a drive along the coast.
(2) a strong need or desire
- I lost my drive to learn Chinese.
(3) an act of hitting a ball hard, especially in tennis, baseball or golf
- He hit a long, high drive to right field.
(4) a piece of equipment in a computer that is used to get information from a disk or to store information on it
- hard drive, disc drive
Fill in the blank
(1) Do you know what you’re driving (at)?
= trying to say
(2) The dog barking next door is driving me (nuts).
= annoys me
(3) He didn’t have to drive the point (home).
= to make something completely clear to someone
(4) The new bill will drive a coach and (horses) through recent trade agreements.
= to destroy an agreement or plan completely
(5) I don’t want to drive a (wedge) between you and your father.
= to do something that makes people disagree or start to dislike each other
Lecture: SM Yoko Narisawa
[ Riddles ]
Please solves the following riddles beating your brains out.
1. What month of the year has 28 days? [A. All of them]
2. The more you feed it, the more it grows. What is it? [A. Fire]
3. I can be long or short. I can be grown or bought. I can be painted.
What am I? [A. Hair]
4. What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it? [A. Promise]
5. Where does today come before yesterday? [A. In the dictionary]
6. It belongs to you, but other people use it more than you do. What is it?
[A. Your name]
7. What has lots of eyes, but can’t see? [A. Potato]
8. What has many teeth, but can’t bite? [A. Comb]
9. What has 13 hearts, but no other organs? [A. A deck of cards]
10. What has words, but never speaks? [A. Book]
11. What has a thumb and four fingers, but is not a hand? [A. Glove]
12. What building has the most stories? [A. The library]
13. Three doctors said that Bill was their brother. Bill says he has no brothers. How many brothers does Bill actually have? [A. None]
14. The day before yesterday I was 21, and next year I will be 24.
When is my birthday? What’s the date today?
[A. December 31 : Today is January 1]
15. What starts with T, ends with T, and has T in it? [A. Teapot]
16. What is 3/7 chicken, 2/3 cat, and 2/4 goat? [A. Chicago]
17. What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it? [A. Short]
18. A little girl goes to the store and buys one dozen eggs. As she is going home, all but three break. How many eggs are left unbroken? [A. Three]
19. If you throw a blue stone into the Red Sea, what will it become? [A. Wet]
20. I have lakes with no water, mountains with no trees, and cities with no buildings. What am I? [A. Map]
Table Topic Speech
(1) what's the best part of growing older?
(2) What do you love to do?
(3) RIght now, at this moment, what do you want most?
(4) How would an extra $1000 a month change your life?
(5) If you could ask one person, alive or dead, only one question, who would you ask and what would you ask?
(6) What are some recent compliments you've received?
(7) What is your favorite time of the year?
Prepared Speech
(1) Cats: SM Odashima
I have two mixed breed cats and used to feed them YAKIKATSUO snacks by INABA,
but realized it was expensive at 580 yen for 100 grams. So, I decided to make homemade snacks using lightly roasted bonito, which is more affordable and natural. Now, both I and my cats are happy with the homemade snacks.
(2) Toyosu Market: SM Ishimura
The other day, I went to Toyosu for the first time with my wife. we took a self-driving train Yurikamome from Shinbasi to Toyosu. The ride was comfortable and the view from train running through the valley between buildings was amazing. We arrived in Toyosu just after 1pm, so we could’t see the lively morning market, but we were able to eat fresh fish at the shops that were open.
Toyosu Market is a wholesale market in Tokyo, known for its fresh seafood, fruits, and vegetables. It officially opened on October 11, 2018, and it succeeded the famous Tsukiji Fish Market as the primary fish market in Tokyo. The decision to move the market from Tsukiji to Toyosu was made to improve hygiene, safety and working conditions for vendors and visitors.
Seafood Auctions; Similar to Tsukiji, Toyosu Market is renowned for it tuna auctions. Buyers, including sushi restaurant owners and seafood retailers, participate in competitive auctions to secure the best-quality fish. The auctions are held in a high-tech facility with advanced systems for tracking and monitoring transactions.
Wholesale Area; The market has separate sections for seafood, fruits, and vegetables, The wholesale areas are not open to the general public, but visitors can observe the action from designated viewing areas.
Toyosu Market also features restaurants and retail shops where visitors can purchase fresh seafood, fruits, and other products. These establishments offer a chance for tourists to enjoy a meal or buy ingredients to take home. There is an Information Center within the market that provides visitors with details about the market’s operations, along with maps and guides to help navigate the vast complex.
Toyosu Market has observation decks that provide panoramic views of the market and Tokyo Bay. These decks are open to the public and offer an excellent vantage point to witness the bustling activities of the market.
While Toyosu Market is a significant attraction for those interested in Japanese seafood and culinary experiences, it’s important to note that it operates more as a wholesale market, and visitors may not experience the same level of interaction
With vendors as they might have at Tsukiji Fish Market. Nonetheless, it remains a popular destination for both locals and tourists interested in the vibrant world of Japanese seafood.
(3) My daughter’s pet dog, Koume: SM Yoko Narisawa
Whenever I watch Dekopin shake paws with Ohtani on TV, I couldn’t help but fall in love with Dekopin. Dogs truly have a universal charm.
My daughter has a dog named Koume. She is a mameshiba and 8 years old, about 48 in human years. She sometimes stays with me at my place. She is the resident expert on my house. At night she goes up to my daughter’s room on the second floor and sleep in her bed. In the early morning she descends the stairs and politely pees on the puppy pad in the living room. After that she knocks at the door of my room in order to tell me that she peed. And then she enters my room and sleeps on my futon. The way Koume curls up when she goes to sleep is so cute although I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately. Her behaviour brings comfort to me. Koume is like my granddaughter although she is 48 in human years.
(4) Atarasi Keisi: SM Kei Narisawa
The speaker discusses a Japanese magician named Atarasi Keisi, whose unique name reflects his destiny as a magician, translating to "to see a whole new different scenery." Keisi is not widely known on TV but is popular on YouTube and TikTok, particularly in the Kansai area where he was born. While he excels in traditional card magic, what sets him apart is his mind-reading technique called 'brain dive,' claiming to extract personal information without asking questions, making it seem more mystical compared to other mentalists.
The speaker highlights Keisi's ability to pinpoint specific details like someone's first love or the food they ate yesterday. Keisi asserts that his abilities are not based on tricks but are genuine psychic phenomena. He discovered these abilities as a child and developed them over time, with improvements evident in the speed of his guesses. The speaker mentions a memorable YouTube video where Keisi performed at the Belgian Embassy, successfully reading the mind of a middle-aged Belgian woman, earning him praise as the No. 1 magician in the world.
The speech ends by noting that Atarasi Keisi is not officially allowed to enter several casinos, adding an intriguing detail to his persona.
(5) It is not fair….: SM Noro
You may be aware of an article that claimed a woman was sexually assaulted by Hitoshi Matsumoto eight years ago. And Matsumoto has filed a lawsuit against Bungeishunju, claiming that the article is untrue.
I happened to find the following article in which a certain woman refutes Matsumoto's accuser.
She is now in her fifties, but there was a time over thirty years ago when she aspired to be in show business and actually appeared on television and in magazines. When she was just starting out, a certain big-name male celebrity who was appearing on the same show asked her, "Would you like to go out to dinner?" Thinking that such a chance was rare, she replied, "Sure! And they went to dinner. After dinner, the man asked, "Would you like to be alone with me?" He asked. She hesitated, but thinking it might lead to the future, she went to a hotel and had sex with him. Of course, it had no effect on her show business, and she gave up show business a short time later.
Recently she is troubled by the reports about Matsumoto Hitoshi.
She said, “That woman had ulterior motives. It is not fair to play the victim. If she didn't like it, she should have said so at the time.” It is heartbreaking to hear the woman who has had similar experience to the victim in this case expresses her disgust.
And I thought, if Matsumoto might take advantage of the accuser’s weakness, it would not be fair and he should be punished.
Meeting Schedule
In-person: 9:30 AM on Feb. 10 at Oyama Communication Center (tea room)
(Coordinator: SM Yu. Narisawa, Word of the Day: SM Yoko Narisawa, Lecturer: SM Kei Narisawa)
Zoom: 7:30 PM on Jan. 29 and Feb. 5
