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Watch the live webcast: Millennium Development Goals – what have they brought for women and girls?
UN Women to host Stakeholders' Forum of partners and activists to assess challenges and gains of the MDGs on 4-5 December 2013
Date: Tuesday, December 3, 2013
What: Stakeholders' Forum, Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls -- the road ahead
When: 4-5 December 2013
Where: UN Headquarters, Conference Building, Conference Room 3, LIVE webcast of the Forum is available above.
Why: The 58th Session of the Commission on Status of Women to be held in March 2014 will focus on the "Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls". This week, the two-day Stakeholders' Forum will provide input into CSW58 and beyond, by bringing together diverse voices on the progress made towards the MDGs as well as the challenges that remain in their implementation for women and girls. The Forum is open to UN pass holders. Top UN Women officials, including Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, will attend the Forum.
Read opening remarks by UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri.
Background: As the 2015 target date for their achievement approaches, efforts to accelerate implementation of the MDGs are intensifying. Simultaneously, the post-2015 development agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are being discussed. Since 2015 also marks the twentieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, implementation of the commitments made towards women's rights and gender equality nearly 20 years ago has taken on new urgency.
At the Stakeholders' Forum, sessions include a civil society panel focusing on women's life cycle which will explore how the MDGs affect women and girls from across the age spectrum. Another session will spotlight approaches to champion women's voice, leadership and rights and the lessons learned from experiences on the ground.
For more information:
For the Media: The Forum is open to UN-accredited media. Interviews can be facilitated with government, activists and civil society members. Please contact media staff listed above.
Among others, the following panelists are available:
Charlotte Bunch is a renowned women's rights activist and the Founding Director and Senior Scholar of the Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL) at Rutgers University. She has led CWGL's path-breaking work on violence against women as a human rights issue and has worked extensively on women's leadership programmes, including the Women's Global Leadership Institute. She also played a key role in the Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign that worked for the creation of UN Women.
Rangita de Silva de Alwis is the Director of the Global Women's Leadership Initiative (GWLI) at the Wilson Centre. She is a widely respected scholar and gender equality advocate and has worked globally with a vast network of academic institutions, civil society and government organizations to develop innovative human rights initiatives around the world. She has also advised several UN entities and the UN Secretariat on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on State accountability and most recently helped develop a Gender Supplement to the UN Secretary-General's Guidelines on Disability.
Chamathya Fernando is a member of the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association (SLGGA). She has represented the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) as a Youth Delegate and has actively participated in events and panels organized by the UN Foundation, World Young Women Caucus and UN Women. She is currently pursuing a Business Management degree.
Christina is a 17-year-old school student in New York City. She has been a girl advocate for The Working Group on Girls for three years, through Girls Learn International. She works on UN Women's Girls Participation Task-Force and the Steering Group.
Manizha Naderi was born in Kabul and raised in New York. She is the Executive Director of Women for Afghan Women (WAW), an NGO that works on the rights of Afghan women in Kabul and New York. She helped launch the Queens Community Outreach Programme in New York and moved to Kabul to launch WAW, helping the organization open nine Family Guidance Centres, eight women's shelters, four halfway houses and four Children's Support Centres in addition to spearheading a women's rights awareness-raising training programme that has reached over 125,000 Afghans.
Salina Sanou is an eminent pan-African expert on education and gender with a particular focus on women small-scale farmers in rural and conflict areas. She is the Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD) and currently the focal point for the post-2015 agenda process within the organization.
Tania Edith Pariona Tarqui is a founding member of the Organization of Young Quechuas of Cayara (Ayacucho, Peru). She currently heads the Commission of Indigenous Children and Youth in the "Enlace Continental de Mujeres Indígenas de las Américas", an organization dedicated to women's empowerment. She also works as a social worker with a focus on indigenous peoples' rights.
Media contacts:
Oisika Chakrabarti, +1 646 781-4522, oisika.chakrabarti[at]unwomen.org
Sharon Grobeisen, +1 646 781-4753, sharon.grobeisen[at]unwomen.org
Hadrien Bonnaud, +1 646 781-4751, hadrien.bonaud[at]unwomen.org


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Kyle Wheeler captured his third consecutive Big South indoor men's high jump title on Friday, clearing a season-best 6-7.5.
Day 1 Blog Aided by a quartet of event titles, both the Liberty men's and women's squads own the lead after a busy opening day of the 2014 Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships, Friday at Rector Field House. Riley Brandon (pentathlon), Jocelyn Williams (weight throw) and the Lady Flames' distance medley relay quartet were all victorious, helping Liberty rack up 62 points during Friday's half-dozen event finals. That puts the Lady Flames nine points in front of defending champion Coastal Carolina's score of 53. On the men's side, Kyle Wheeler won the high jump for the third straight year as part of a 74.5-point Friday for the 16-time defending champion Flames. That score has Liberty 37.5 points ahead of High Point through six events.
Women's Day One Recap Williams made history on Friday, becoming the Lady Flames' first-ever Big South women's weight throw champion. Five of the redshirt junior's six throws would have won the competition, highlighted by her record-breaking fifth attempt, which landed at 67-5.5. It was the third straight meet that Williams broke her own program record in the women's weight throw. This time, she added 11 inches to her previous mark and won the event title by four feet over Winthrop freshman Marthaline Cooper. Williams now ranks No. 21 nationally this season and second in Big South Conference history for the women's weight throw. Liberty's other two first-place finishes came in more dramatic fashion, beginning with Brandon's first Big South pentathlon crown. She needed to win the final event, the 800-meter run, in a personal-best time of 2:20.56 to overtake teammate Erika Jackson. Brandon's winning score of 3,484 points fell just 13 tallies shy of the meet record, as she was also aided by personal-best efforts in the 60 hurdles (9.43), shot put (35-7.25) and long jump (16-10). Jackson held on for second place with a score of 3,457 which added 194 points to her previous personal best and qualified the sophomore for the ECAC meet. Her performance featured personal-best marks in the 60 hurdles (9.28), high jump (5-1.75), shot put (36-2.75) and 800 (2:30.08). Jackson now ranks No. 8 in program history for the pentathlon. Liberty ended up outscoring Coastal Carolina by a 23-6 count in the pentathlon, as sophomore Jessica Harrison came in fourth with 3,202 points. The Lady Flames' distance medley quartet of Hannah Scherlacher, Mary Witmer, Meghan Burggraf and Katie Russo emerged victorious in a stirring head-to-head battle during the evening's final race. Their meet-record time of 12:04.07 was an ECAC qualifier and ranks fourth in program history. Burggraf and Russo, who were both part of Liberty's last Big South-winning distance medley relay grouping in 2011, each enjoyed noteworthy efforts. Burggraf gave the Lady Flames a sizeable lead with an impressive 800-meter carry on the next-to-last leg. Fellow senior Russo then passed High Point in the final strides of the 1,600-meter anchor leg, getting the last laugh in a back-and-forth duel with the Panthers. Junior Jacy Christiansen earned All-Big South honors in the women's 3K for the third consecutive year, finishing third in arguably the day's most competitive race. Her 9:46.90 clocking made her one of five runners to better the meet record of 9:55.11 which had stood since 1998. All four of the Lady Flames' women's long jumpers scored points, paced by sophomore Janae Jones. She landed at an indoor personal-best 17-11.75 for third place, garnering her fourth career All-Big South honor. Audrey Bamford followed in fifth place (17-10.75), with Melissa Rohwer coming in seventh (17-9.5) and Oasis Hernandez taking eighth (17-8), giving the Lady Flames 13 points in the event. Liberty failed to score points in the women's pole vault, but redshirt freshman Kellie Glynn cleared 10-11.75 for 10th place in the event and a share of eighth place with sister Jessie on Liberty's all-time list. The Lady Flames qualified two athletes to Saturday's finals in both the 60 (Hernandez-7.67 and Abigail Flower-7.69) and 400 (Ansley Gebben-56.19 and Corinn Bedell-57.34) dashes. Both Gebben and Bedell's efforts were new personal bests, and Gebben climbed to third place on Liberty's all-time performance list in the process. Hernandez sped to a season-best 200 dash time of 25.18 seconds to win her heat, qualify for the final and grab the No. 8 position in program history. Meanwhile, Burggraf warmed up for her distance medley relay performance by qualifying for the 800 final in 2:16.62.
Men's Day One Recap Despite being sidelined by injury for most of his junior season to date, Wheeler was able to claim his third straight Big South indoor high jump crown Friday evening. His season-best 6-7.5 effort matched that of Campbell's Davian Rhodes, but Wheeler made it on his first attempt to secure the victory. Wheeler is Liberty's first athlete to win three consecutive Big South indoor high jump titles since James Johnson did so at the first three editions of the meet (1998-2000). Teammate Zach Davis tied for fifth at 6-4.25, while Patrick Donigan's 6-2.25 leap earned a seventh-place finish. Several hours earlier, Davis, Tevan McIntire and Zach Gilroy put on an impressive high jumping display to close out day one of the heptathlon. Davis leapt a personal-best 6-11 to wrap up a 2,981-point opening day. That puts the freshman 86 points ahead of second-place Quincy Murphy of VMI. Davis also moved into a tie for sixth place on Liberty's indoor men's high jump list in the process. Prior to his high jump effort, Davis recorded the top long jump (22-0.75) and shot put (41-0.25) among the 14 heptathletes. McIntire and Gilroy were both successful at 6-5, which represented a new high jump personal best for each. That helped McIntire close out the day in fourth place with 2,793 points. Gilroy is currently in eighth with 2,535 points, thanks to season-best performances in all four disciplines thus far. Liberty saw three long jumpers place inside the top five, and each of the trio notched an IC4A qualifier on Friday. Kenny Scott, who also plays defensive back for the Liberty football team, earned All-Big South honors with his 23-4 leap that netted third place. Freshman Aklesso Agama followed in fourth place at 23-2, with Tarell Williams landing at 23-0.75 for the fifth position. Sophomore Ken Ritchey also punched his IC4A ticket, thanks to a personal-best 15-11 pole vault clearance. That was good for the runner-up position in the event and a tie for eighth place in program history. Teammate Alex Geniesse got over a collegiate-best 14-5.25 to share sixth place, while Harrison Allen's 14-5.25 put him in a tie for eighth place on misses. Fred Fulton and David Scouten placed 2-3 in the men's weight throw, with both Flames achieving personal-best marks. Fulton's 63-10.5 throw on his sixth and final attempt was more than six feet longer than his season best entering the weekend. It moved Fulton past his coach, Clendon Henderson, and into third place in Liberty annals. Scouten's top mark of the day, which also happened during round six, measured 61-9.75. Caleb Edmonds stood on the podium for the third straight year in the men's 3K, placing third in 8:18.43. Early leader Josh MacDonald followed in fourth place in 8:22.26, while Sam Hibbs qualified for the ECAC meet with his seventh-place time of 8:25.62. Liberty led for much of the men's distance medley relay, before the team of Jarred Cornfield, John Sherret, Trevor Hope and Zach Barker ended up third overall. The Flames qualified for the IC4A meet with their time of 10:10.60, which puts them ninth in program history. Freshman Stephen Racanelli highlighted the Flames' efforts in Friday's running event preliminaries, qualifying for the finals in both the 60 (6.92) and 200 (21.72). His 60 time tied a personal best, while his personal-best 200 effort was the top time during any of Friday's heats. Racanelli will be joined on the 60 dash starting line by teammate ConRoy Smith, who posted a time of 6.93 in his first 60-meter race since Dec. 5. Caleb Fraley made a successful debut in a Liberty uniform, clocking a 60 hurdles time of 8.61 seconds to advance to the final. Meanwhile, Tyler Weigandt will race in his first Big South 400 final after posting an indoor-best time of 50.27 seconds. The 2014 Big South Indoor Track & Field Championships will conclude with an action-packed Saturday which will see 22 event finals contested inside Rector Field House. The day's first event will be the heptathlon 60-meter hurdles at 10 a.m.

subset: commoncrawl


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Who knew the Department of Homeland Security had an eye for photography?
The Transportation Security Administration — better known as the TSA, or the folks who pat you down at the airport — has opened its own account on Instagram, the popular photo-sharing service. Yes, really.
Though the TSA hasn't explicitly outlined exactly why it has decided to embrace the visual social medium, it seems that the feed will be used primarily to point out the confiscated restricted items that passengers have tried to take onboard planes.
Spoiler alert: It's not a bunch of shampoo bottles. Over the handful of days that the account has been active, the TSA has posted 11 photos, nine of which are pictures of guns, knives, or in one instance, a gun-shaped knife.
One photo was decidedly more tame, a June 27 shot of a cache of fireworks, likely taken to warn travelers not to bring the fun-time explosives with them over the Fourth of July holiday.
The whole thing is rather bizarre, though I suppose the rationale behind the account is to helpfully remind travelers what is and is not permitted in their carry-on luggage. (Though if you need an Instagram account to tell you not to bring a loaded handgun onto an airplane, I'd say you have bigger problems to deal with.)
My best guess is, it's a way for the TSA to buff its image after a decade of contempt from travelers who have felt increasingly inconvenienced and, with the introduction of body scanners, more exposed than ever before. Perhaps a stream filled with sepia-colored "no-no" shots will help rub some of the tarnish from the TSA's name.
In the meantime, check out that crazy-looking gun-knife I was talking about before in the photo below.


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Contact Us
Related Pages
Welcome to the Environment section. On this page you will find below a list of quick links to the popular searched pages. Alternatively, use the menu on the left to find the information you require.
Keep the streets clean
Find out about our street cleansing services including, street care teams, town centre ranger, rural litter patrol, graffiti removal, fly tipping and abandoned vehicles.
Find out about recycling
Learn what you can recycle, when and where.
Check food hygiene ratings
See how your local restaurant scores under the National Food Hygiene Rating scheme. Find out about food poisoning and food warnings, how to register your food premises or attend food hygiene courses.
Visit a country park or play area
Find out about the Borough's many country parks, play areas, commons, public rights of way and woodlands.
Become more energy efficient
See how you can save money on your fuel bills and, in certain circumstances, receive grants to improve your home's energy efficiency. Get tips on greener living, including recycling and reducing your carbon footprint.
Report a tree or hedge problem
Report a problem with trees on road verges or in our parks and open spaces. Find out how to protect trees with amenity value or resolve a dispute over high hedges.
Learn about animal welfare
Find out what to do if you find a stray dog and how to contact the Council's dog warden, the location of the Borough's dog waste bins and learn and anti-barking collars.
Solve a pest problem
The Council no longer operates a pest control service but we have listed local contractors, although in no way do offer any recommendation as to their quality or suitability.
Find out about pollution
Check local air pollution levels, find out about noise pollution and how to report a noise nuisance, plus advice on bonfires and asbestos.
Advice on sewers, drainage and water
Discover who is responsible for your water supply and drainage, what to do if there are any problems with your drainage, plus advice on water quality.
Keep the Borough moving
See our plans to keep Brentwood moving during inclement weather, including gritting routes and the latest travel advice.


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- This event has passed.
Cole Library Children's Story Time
January 9 @ 9:30 am - 10:00 am
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every week that begins at 9:30 am on Thursday, repeating until March 12, 2020
Cole Library hosts a preschool story time every Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. Cathy Boggs uses a weekly theme that ties together stories, songs and fingerplays. Story time lasts 30 minutes and is located in the Browsing Room.
***If school is cancelled due to poor weather, story time will not be held.


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Galerista d'art
Double Degree
Find out the opportunities that will bring you to study one of our double degrees that we offer.
Career opportunities
These are the career opportunities you will have if you study Humanities.
Career opportunities
The graduates in Humanities and Cultural Studies acquire great competences and skills that allow them to work in different areas.


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Another rainy day in Tokyo has prompted me to buy some new shoes. Both pairs I have from Australia have developed leaks that make my socks all soggy and uncomfortable.
I could go get the best pair of shoes that money can buy, or instead opt for the discount option. Yes, that's right, "el cheapo" wins again!
My choice was simple. I went to the chinese discount store, Sanpei in Shinjuku, where I got my backpack about six months ago.
While the backpack's not falling apart yet, it has seen better days and looks like the inside wants out. I didn't pay too much for it and it has served me well so far.
I said to a young assistant I wanted to try the shoes on, and he just looked into the distance because he had no idea whatsoever what I asked.
I had more luck with an older man that couldn't speak much more but he understood what shoe size meant. I'm about a 7.5/8 in Australia so here I'm about a size 25 in Japan.
I tried two pairs, one with a buckle and a slip-on pair. They didn't look too bad. I shelved the buckle option and paced for ages in the slip-ons trying to ascertain if this pair were not going to kill my feet in the long run.
I must've annoyed the shopkeeper as he said something I didn't understand, but the look on his face and tone of his voice made it pretty clear. I DID swap one of the shoes for one from the other box (same size though). Maybe that's why.
While I paced he helped another guy buy some 700 yen shirts. Rob, I think that was his name, was from Melbourne and was bar-tendering in Roppongi. He said he didn't have a visa and just goes over to Korea or Taiwan to continue on a tourist visa. Sneaky, but looks like he's pulled it off so far.
Finally I bought the pair of slip-ons for 1030 yen. Only time will tell if it's worth no more than that or even less than what I paid. As long as it's waterproof and stays comfortable, I'll be happy.
Before the shoes I went to Yamaya once more and picked up another four cartons of Don Simon, as well as Wonka chocolate, peanut butter and guacamole dip.
The dip's not exactly what I'm still searching for, but I'm ecstatic to find a product with the word "dip" on it in Japan. Damn hard to find round these parts.
My new year schedule starts tomorrow. I'm a little sad there is no more Shinjuku classes. I'll really miss this place.
Officially ten months in Japan today.
Monday, 31 March 2008
Sanpei Shoes
Another rainy day in Tokyo has prompted me to buy some new shoes. Both pairs I have from Australia have developed leaks that make my socks all soggy and uncomfortable.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 9:13 pm 0 comments
Sunday, 30 March 2008
Better Late Than Never
Ok, I've just about stumbled over the ten month mark of living, working and breathing in Japan.
I had an epiphany today and I thought it might be an interesting idea to learn a bit of Japanese. You know, seeing that I'm living here and stuff.
While the gf drops a few choice words into my vocabulary (no, not swearing at me, although those are the ones I'm most open to learning), my retention of words doesn't quite sink in all the time. I can understand how those kids feel learning from a scary monster foreigner like myself.
One of the cool things about a DS in Japan is that it's quite possible to run educational programs as well as games on the machines. Crazy I know.
In Australia, a DS is just for kids, but here you wouldn't be surprised if some elderly person was busting some moves on one. Maybe that isn't THAT surprising, since it's also quite common to see adults reading manga comics on the train, some quite explicit.
The range of software here is pretty amazing. Not only can you get Mario Kart, but there are Kanji training, english learning, cooking and exercise ones too.
While the kanji ones are geared towards japanese speakers, I feel like these are totally out of my league.
For now I'm motivated to learn the japanese alphabets, Hiragana, Katakana and maybe a few of the 2000 most common Kanji.
I found a cool, free application that runs on the DS called Project JDS 1.30. The original website was down when I tried, but you can try downloading directly from here.
Another program worth looking into is Kana DS. At the moment, it's still in alpha release, so it's not a complete application but it looks promising and has a nice interface.
Finally if a commercial application is desired and you're at the say, "infant" level of japanese like me, Ojaru-Maru DS: Ojaru to Okeiko Aiueo looks interesting and simple enough.
The original site (in japanese) has a demonstration video here. Just click on the orange box that looks like it has a propeller on top, at the top left hand side of the site.
It looks like a very steep learning curve attempting japanese, but I hope I can stick with this.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 7:36 pm 0 comments
Labels: Nintendo
Saturday, 29 March 2008
Cherry Blossom Girl
Looks like the main reason the gf was pissed at me was because she had planned for us to have a picnic under the cherry blossoms for her birthday.
Thing is, she only hinted that was her plan so I was none the wiser, until the fallout.
Tonight we definitely made amends.
After I came back from work we went Hanami (cherry blossom [sakura] viewing) in Chidorigafuchi, near the famous Budokan.
I packed my special shochu and mango mix of Jimmy Juice®, while the gf packed a bag of bread, cheese and other goodies.
Looks like we weren't the only ones with this idea.
At night the white flowers look particularly beautiful, floodlit with different colours.
We found a nice place along the path to set up a little picnic. Everyone was watching us eating our tomato, cheese and bread.
It looked like they wanted some too. It was either the food or some kind of jedi mind trick I pulled off with my Jimmy (obi)-wan hoodie pulled over my head that drew their attention to us.
After they eventually switched off the flood lights we made our way across the road to the Yasukuni Shrine where there were a lot of stalls, and people sitting on tarps or tables eating and drinking under the cherry blossoms.
As good an excuse for a drink or two if there ever was one.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 2 comments
Labels: Cherry Blossom, Chidorigafuchi, Hanami, sakura, Yasukuni Shrine
Friday, 28 March 2008
The Lap Of Luxury
The gf was a little bummed out after I seriously screwed up her birthday. It wasn't all bad. She liked my presents. I even gave her the MoMA "hugging" salt and pepper shakers that were going to be my original gift before the watch.
Her therapy was to stay a night in a hotel.
No, not just any hotel but the Westin, a very luxurious accomodation located in Ebisu.
To say it was expensive is an understatement. F*%king expensive is a more appropriate term.
While I was there I weighed myself on the scales. Officially I'm 63.8kg. Before I came to this country I was 80kg. Japan is a good weight loss place without really trying. Japanese girls still think they are fat. "Women!" *sigh* Anyhoo..
Looks like the stay in the hotel worked though.
By the time I saw her again in the evening everything was rosy once again.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 4:00 pm 0 comments
Thursday, 27 March 2008
Happiness Is Limited
What a waste of a day.
I thought to extend my visa today. Since it's my day off I thought it was the right time to go. I had quite a bit of shochu last night (I was on a self-imposed hiatus), so I didn't feel like getting up early. I got to the immigration office as before. This time the gf tagged along.
I wished I got there earlier. The place was packed.
I mistakenly thought I had to renew my visa two months before it expires. Apparently it has to be done within the two months and not before. So basically we went there for nothing. I didn't have the letter of employment from my office anyway, so it was truly a pointless exercise.
From there I made the mistake to go to Akihabara to get two accessories for my DS. I don't think we were there long, but gf clearly didn't want to be there at all.
Just to let you know, today is gf's birthday and while I was a little plastered last night I gave her the present. It was after midnight and I couldn't wait.
It's an Alba Riki Watanabe branded Seiko watch. She said she liked it when we looked at watches months earlier. I had another present, but I thought she was worth more than that. Maybe I was wrong.
Walking back from the station there was a stony silence all the way home. She was muttering words in japanese, so I needed a time out and said I was going to the supermarket.
So here I am at Atre above Yotsuya station trying to make sense of it all.
Looks like I'm not allowed to stay happy for too long. It's just the way it's always going to be, I guess.
Happy Birthday gf.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 7:45 pm 0 comments
Monday, 24 March 2008
Red Goes Faster
Like you didn't think it would happen..
Yes, I am now the proud owner of a nice little Nintendo DS lite.
After work I decided on the spur of the moment to go to Akihabara. I could have waited until thursday, but after Nakano I don't think gf wants to go to another geek hangout with me again.
First stop was Yodobashi. The gf likes a particular watch and I was thinking if I used my point card it could make the DS or the watch a little cheaper.
They unfortunately didn't have it in stock, and said it'd be a special order, so I passed on that. I saw it in Bic. I might get it tomorrow.
At Yodobashi the DS, like every other big store (Sofmap, Bic Camera, Sakuraya) has it for 16,800 yen.
I was having none of that, so I went to Wink Digital and got a nice crimson red and black shiny one for 14,800 yen. It's new, but for some reason the warranty has been stamped for the 13th of March. Ten days. I can live with that.
At least the 5000 yen cash back is going towards something worthwhile. I can hear my mother saying what a waste of money. Yes, probably but what a glorious way to blow it, huh?
If you're looking for stuff in Japan, a great price comparison site you should check out is Kakaku.
I picked up a nice cart for 3990 yen. That will come in very handy.
As well as that, I got a USB power charge cable for 100 yen, because it didn't have a warranty (?), but works fine.
I tried to ask what was wrong with it ("works good?", "ok?"), but none of them knew what I was asking at all. The cable will be useful for Australia as the power charger is only good for japan's electricity.
While I was in Akihabara I wanted to look around a bit as well.
I was hoping to go to Mandarake in search of interesting stuff like in Shibuya and Nakano but it was closed. Apparently they're moving and they closed their doors just yesterday.
I asked a guy yelling advertising his wares where it was and wouldn't you know it I was right next to the building. I saw a nice metallic aluminium case for my DS in R3 for 980 yen. Hmm, should've got it. Dammit.
Azo Bit City is another unusual shop filled with cosplay, manga and hentai dolls.
Even though they don't like anyone to take photos, I couldn't resist taking a shot of these life sized manga dolls.
I finally got myself some replacement blades for my Gillette razor from Yodobashi Camera in Shinjuku. I added the purchase to my point card and I thought they were using my points instead of adding them, but the marked price was wrong. Just 1120 yen, Bonus!
I think I did pretty well on a single blade since I arrived. Ten months, not bad. If only I didn't feel like I was cutting sheets of skin off my face.
Oh I experienced my first earthquake during a lesson today. It wasn't big. The students didn't even notice until I pointed to a slightly shaking coat hanger.
Anyhow, It made a good warm up.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 0 comments
Labels: Akihabara
Sunday, 23 March 2008
Very Very Thanks!
As long as the japanese don't hire english proofreaders for their advertising campaigns and shop names, I will always have some great english to take photos of.
This one is in the CIAL complex of Yokohama station.
This is how I feel every time I find myself "trapped" in an amusement arcade.
Of course today was no different.
I managed to flee Yokohama before succumbing to the siren's call of the arcades (ok, I looked at a few BEFORE work).
Thinking that maybe just a quick peek in Shibuya couldn't do any harm, is where the trouble starts.
Being a "100 yen a pop" day doesn't help either.
To cut a long story shorter, I picked up my first grey Gloomy® murder bear for 300 yen after watching another guy's moves on the machine. The second was a 100 yen give away when the staff girl let me have the money shot (NO, not that one).
I missed a few other potential prizes later, but being my good hearted self I helped some young japanese win their very own Gloomy®
These bears have a battery that shakes it's victims around (It looks more like he's masturbating but that's what gf thought, not me). Nothing to write home about. Better than one that does nothing I suppose. Here's a video demonstration.
I also went to my secret shop. I was looking for some Bandai solar games and only saw Kyofu No Mujintou (Shark Island).
I had a quick play of it. I couldn't work out the controls. It's not my long lost video game, but 1050 yen isn't too bad a price as long as I read the instructions first. There're a few simulators on this link too that you should try. Not exactly perfect, but it brings back some memories.
You'll notice in the left side of the picture is Airport Panic for 2100 yen.
Decisions, decisions. I saw a Nintendo DS secondhand for 12,800 yen. Tempt. If I stop spending money I'll probably save some good money one day.
One interesting thing I saw outside Yodobashi in Yokohama, was a Fiat Barchetta.
I haven't seen a Fiat, let alone their convertible in Japan at all. I saw this car in Italy many years ago and hoped it would one day come to Australia, but that day is still yet to come.
I'm happy with my little Mx'y. Pity I don't have it here. I miss driving, that's for sure.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 0 comments
Labels: 80s handheld electronic games, Shibuya, UFO catchers, Yokohama
80s Handheld Simulators!
Following on from a previous post, I found a great site with a heap of game simulators, mainly Nintendo "Game & Watch" titles.
The simulations are excellent. If you have a windows PC, or a mac running a Boot Camp or virtual windows machine, I strongly recommend you try some out here.
The memories will come flooding back.
The tabletop handheld I had that I thought was Galaga was actually Astro Wars, also known as Galaxy II.
The look and feel is very similar to Galaga though.
Try it out on that simulators page. All the sims have a GUI that looks exactly like the handheld. Extra cool points for that.
Another one that I forgot that was my brother's toy was Condor from Time & Fun.
Even though it has very simple left and right buttons, it's quite a bit of fun to play. Similar to the "Game & Watch" Snoopy Tennis.
Another link for 80s game sims can be found here.
I had a ball playing my old Donkey Kong Jr "Game & Watch"(Panorama Screen) simulation and even Tomytronics, Tron.
Some of the prices the actual vintage units are selling for in Nakano are way overpriced. I guess nostalgia costs as much as your memories are worth.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 10:38 pm 0 comments
Labels: 80s handheld electronic games
Nakano Broadway
First mistake. Gf asked where I wanted to go today. I said Nakano Broadway.
For those that don't know, Akihabara isn't the only sanctuary for geeks.
Nakano is probably more so, because as Akihabara's popularity and maybe coolness rises, the outcasts have to make their place somewhere to call their own.
While Akky is convenient for computer products, Nakano has a large selection of manga and a heap of figurines.
If you weren't looking for it, you'd probably miss it.
To get to Nakano Broadway, you have to make your way from the station down an avenue of shops, with a partial transparent ceiling. It reminds me of the same types of avenues in Osaka and Hiroshima.
If you keep going you'll see the Nakano Broadway complex, with the name in shiny chrome.
Once inside, just go up the escalator to the next floors and you'll find a maze of shops. Some specializing in manga, others in doll figures and computer games. Probably pointless to mention but yes, I enjoyed it A LOT. The gf, not so much.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 10:05 pm 0 comments
Labels: Nakano Broadway
Friday, 21 March 2008
Room For The Memories
The place in Shibuya brought back a lot of memories. Here is a clue:
Growing up in the early 80's was a interesting time for me, probably never to be repeated.
When computers were still new, Nintendo brought out a whole range of small LCD "Game & Watch" handheld games.
Like many kids of the time I had quite a few of them.
Donkey Kong Jr "Game & Watch" Panorama screen:
The screen flipped open where the actual screen you played from was a colourful LCD reflection in a mirror.
Donkey Kong Hockey:
This one was different. Unlike most of the "Game & Watch", you could play an opponent or the computer and it had wind-up controls that fit inside the unit.
I had a solar-powered game made by Bandai Electronics.
Invaders Of The Mummy's Tomb, also known as "Pharoah's Pyramid" is called "Nazo No Pyramid" here in Japan.
Now THIS has a bit of a story. I had this one for not as long as I'd hoped.
Way back in 1982 my brother was just a little baby and my mother wisely thought it'd be a great idea to give it to him to play with. I pleaded with her, saying that he'd break it.
In an instant the little s**t snapped it in two. I was CRUSHED. No, they didn't get me a new one.
This may be the time to get it back. I recall seeing a few Bandai games in the shop.
From what I remember it was a pretty cool game. Look here for a 1982 magazine advert describing the game play.
I had an arcade-looking handheld of Galaga that was really cool, and also a handheld electronic bowling game, (the controller was a bowling ball) but trying as hard I can, I just can't find any pictures. Sorry.
So back to 2008.
At the shop I saw quite a few of the Nintendo and Bandai handhelds.
Remember this? Donkey Kong
And Oil Panic? I saw this one for about 3000 yen.
What about Green House? Another classic.
With my recent fixation of the Nintendo DS lite that the gf's friend's 10 year old daughter lent me, I tried a "Game & Watch" collection on the DS that features all three of these classics.
I had a go of them and I think I'm in trouble. The gameplay is still as addictive as I remembered it, and the LCD ghost images ups that retro cool factor.
This cart is very rare as it was not offered for sale to the public (only to Club Nintendo members, and only in Japan), so it's very tempting.
To finish off, I think I'll share a treat. One of the 80's handhelds I used to like (but not own), was Tomytronics Tron. I managed to find a very playable lightcycle game online. Download it here.
Imagine the game Snake, but with 3D graphics and more than one "snake". Addictive is the word.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 10:09 pm 4 comments
Labels: 80s handheld electronic games, game and watch, Nintendo
Yen It On Back To Me
For once, I was given a heap of yen instead of losing it.
Like magic I turned this:
Into this:
I took my Nikon cashback money order to the Post Office in Shinjuku after my shift.
As always the place was busy. I grabbed my queue number, and patiently waited until I was called.
Once I got to the counter the clerk told me helpfully in japanese what to fill in. He couldn't give me my money though. He only handled mail, so I obviously had to go upstairs to cash my cheque.
It didn't take long so without any help I was outta there in no time.
To kill a bit of time I checked out some prices on Nintendo DS's. Looks like all the electrical stores have no idea about any legal ramifications of price fixing, so at every shop it was pretty much 16,800 yen. I might hold out a while.
So anyway, while doing this I somehow found the vibrators section of Don Quijote. I had NO idea they had this kind of stuff, REALLY!
I saw a pack of what I think was bubble bath, but the picture on the package looked like the girl was bathing in pink slime. I'm sure in a certain situation it might work. uh, maybe.
I didn't really want to stay in Shinjuku too long. The weather didn't look great and there are some really forceful gales blowing around at the moment. The last thing I want is another broken umbrella.
Yesterday was the Spring Equinox holiday (and my day off no less), but judging by the weather it's not changing in a hurry.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 6:45 pm 0 comments
Thursday, 20 March 2008
Shibuya's Amusement Arcades
Ok, I don't know why I decided to do this (well I do. Remind me to punch out that teacher). Everyone needs some kind of therapy and I guess mine is telling everyone about what's happening in catcher land.
So without further ado.. It's Shibuya's turn!
The most obvious amusement arcade is the Club Sega. It's located at 35°39'38.28"N 139°41'52.07"E.
The only win I can remember here is Woodstock, the night we also played a puck game.
The staff seem reasonably friendly, but it's actually pretty small and winning is a little difficult.
Very close by is Adores at 35°39'40.44"N 139°41'53.57"E.
Apart from the "broken" machine winning these mugs, the staff don't really want to give easy wins.
I played here for Wonka chocolate paying more than the retail and the blue DOA doll, that I had no help from the staff with. Dammit!
Not to be mistaken with Shinjuku Sports Land actually IN Shinjuku, they also have a Shinjuku Sports Land here in Shibuya.
You'd think they'd just call it "Shibuya Sports Land", but that looks like it's too difficult to change.
Should you come here? In one word,...no. It's tiny. The staff here are practically non existant, and the prizes are a bit of a yawn. I couldn't be bothered searching for the geo-codes. It's on Center-gai. If you REALLY want to go here, you'll find it.
Almost done..
This brings us to yet another Taito Station on the east side of Shibuya station. It's at 35°39'35.01"N 139°42'7.41"E, right next to Bic Camera.
This is where I got this espresso coffee maker for the "bargain" price of 1400 yen. Hmm..
This place has bad karma. I don't feel like I can win stuff here easily. Trust your feelings.
Finally just to make this a thorough review, I made my way to the last discovered catcher in a small alleyway across the busier road from Club Sega.
You know you are in the right place when some seedy looking places pop up, and the odd love hotel. It's not really worth seeking out. I have never played these machines and never will. It feels even worse than the Taito.
Well, there you have it. I'm spent. This will probably be the last catcher review. We can only hope.
I found my otaku wet dream of a shop here in Shibuya. I'm not going to say what it is. Let's just say it's my guilty secret and it brought back a lot of memories.
Finally I received my cashback cheque from Nikon. 5000 yen! sweet. That's going to buy a LOT of Crunky.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 3:53 pm 2 comments
Labels: Shibuya, UFO catchers
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
Yokohama's Amusement Arcades
Continuing from my last post, I'm going to keep going with my catcher reviews.
This time it's Yokohama.
Fortunately I decided to take a few pictures before work because later it was raining hard.
Many times I have spoken of Yokohama's "Exciting Space Game" Taito Station. The co-ordinates are 35°27'50.61"N 139°37'0.55"E.
It's probably where I have won the most items. It's usually where I end up after work.
Wins: 5+
Staff: Generally friendly and not too intimidating to ask to move items.
Potential for winning: high, with some help from staff.
Not far at 35°27'49.32"N 139°37'2.01"E, is the Breeze Sega.
Wins: One
Staff: Will only help out when you've lost a few 100 yen.
Potential for winning: Low. The staff are reluctant. Try Taito first
Nearby, not too far away is the Round 1 at 35°27'50.26"N 139°37'5.16"E.
This should be your last resort.
My only win here was the mama penguin for about 2000 yen. There's a big floor space of catchers, but it's hard to win stuff here.
Some look deceptively simple to sink, but require many tries. Besides the Cole Porter song, "Blow Gabriel Blow" they play on high rotation will drive you nuts. Walk away!! (or go bowling instead)
Finally, as I've mentioned in other posts, is Gento's Taito Game Park. The map directions are here .
I'm not going to post the pictures again. You can see where it is, and what it's like here.
Before anyone tries to tell me I missed Minato Mirai's Club Sega and Cosmo World. Yes, I know but I've never won anything from those and besides, writing these posts gets tiring. For me and for you.
Next stop. Shibuya and it's many arcades.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:15 pm 0 comments
Labels: UFO catchers, Yokohama
One thing you don't see every day is a guy in a green suit with an unmistakable bulge walking down a busy Shibuya street.
No, it's not an aroused Gachapin, but until now I finally learn of Hokkaido's famous Marimokkori.
I was trying to take a picture with my camera, but there were too many other people trying to take his picture and it was raining. Many thanks for the youtube post of this video.
Just when I was thinking Japan wasn't that strange this happens.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 5:01 pm 0 comments
Labels: Marimokkori, Shibuya
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
Fujisawa's Amusement Arcades
Last weekend I remarked to a teacher that I practically knew where every UFO catcher was in every part of Tokyo I've been to.
He thought it'd be cool if I made an online "guide" to them. I know this is asking for trouble but here it is! Starting with lil ol' Fujisawa.
If you find yourself out here, there isn't much to do, so you may as well come here.
First on the list is the Adores chain at 35°20'13.09"N, 139°29'21.88"E. (Smack those co-ordinates into Google Earth for a bird's eye view).
You'll know you're in the right place by the tacky blue arch that goes over the road next to the building.
Wins/Tries: zero
Staff: seemingly friendly, but I haven't tried any machines so I didn't need to ask them to move anything.
Potential for winning: low
You can find the other arcade easily by going through the Adores to the back entrance and you'll see it from the other side.
The Fun Fun Game In is even less likely to bring any spoils. While there may be a few things worth catching, it looked impossible to win anything.
Tries: once
Wins: zero
Staff: hard to find so can't ask
Potential for winning: low
On a personal note, today was my last lesson with my first kids class.
I have to say I'm a little sad to finish with these little guys. I think I did make a difference to them. I may be teaching my favourite one, (my "son") in Yokohama next month, so maybe not all that bad.
Whether the catcher reviews last is another thing. Did I play them today? No, contrary to what the impression you might have, Just because I go there doesn't mean I play everytime I go in.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 0 comments
Labels: Fujisawa, UFO catchers
Monday, 17 March 2008
Salami Baby One More Time!
This has got to be a record.
Not only two posts in one day, but I think I have created a milestone (for me), in the longest time to eat something past it's used by date.
Tonight I finally finished the salami that was brought over here in the new year.
Click the picture for a closer look at the label. See the date? Yes, that's right, 23rd of February,2008!
So it's almost a month overdue. Going by "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger", if you don't see another post you know what happened to me.
At least it wasn't the chinese gyoza fiasco that the japanese media won't let go of.
While the gf is at a graduation ceremony tonight, I bid a fond farewell to the salami that has served me well the last few months with an olive oil, salami and onion spaghetti dish.
I will miss you my friend. Back to the bacon and brie.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:18 pm 3 comments
My toy shop will be opening soon no doubt.
Today, I played for the same company of soft toys that make the penguins, at Shinjuku Sports Land.
My sights were set on getting a set of pandas. Just one would never do.
The good news is the first one took three tries and 300 yen. The bad news is.. hmm, no you don't need to know. I just should have stopped at one.
I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I kept waking up at odd hours. At least I felt better later on at the schools.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 5:47 pm 0 comments
Labels: Shinjuku, UFO catchers
Sunday, 16 March 2008
DIY Blog Redecorating
You may have noticed a few pretty widgets on the right side of the blog right here.
A big clock to tell you what time it is here in sunny (today, yes) Tokyo. A weather guide to say how much I'm freezing my butt off. (Today was a little warmer, but it's the blizzard winds that cause the pain).
Most interestingly I've installed a online counter that tells how many people are looking at my blog right now, and where they're from. I didn't know I had much of a fan club. Thanks!
While you're here why not leave a comment? I'm always interested in what people think. If you have any questions I'll try to answer as best as I can. Please be kind. Constructive criticism is ok.
What did I do today? As little as possible. I had a bit of hangover that stopped me from doing anything worthwhile. Sometimes a rest can be beneficial though.
I'm hoping for a quick, painless week ahead. Crossing my fingers.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 7:36 pm 0 comments
Saturday, 15 March 2008
Don't Post Drunk
Does blogger log in quicker when you're intoxicated?
Tonight I went out with the new crew from Shibuya.
We went to some unnamed izakaya (I have no idea what it was called). I tried my best to drink as much as the 3000 yen I paid as I could, and right now I struggle to write this post with both eyes open.
Most of the night I was bored with a canadian teacher talking too much, when I was more interested in getting drunk.
I had a toxic mix of shochu. beer and something that tasted like alcohol and tomato juice that couldn't find it's rightful owner.
After the izakaya, Jon and I went to Tasu-ichi, where I first met the gf (and because of that meeting I now call it, "Love Connection").
It's pretty much a gaijin bar, but much better than a expensive night in karaoke.
It's good to be back here. We had some good conversation and suggested a karaoke night another time with the original boys from Tomioka.
It wasn't my best night, but at least it allowed me to be social.
I have my new schedule, and if anyone is listening, I wish I had less kids classes (except for my "surrogate son", of course) Especially no C levels! And please, good angels of mercy, can I have schools closer to where I am living?
Oh, while I'm at this low point in the night, can I get paid more to make this all seem worthwhile?
I'm going to save this post before I fall asleep. Thanks for listening. Goodnight.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 2 comments
Friday, 14 March 2008
Happy White Day!
I looked all over the internet to find an example of the shameless advertising the shops are doing for White Day.
Even though I had plenty of time, I was too slack to take a photo with my camera.
I had a little trouble finding what I was looking for, so instead I googled "white day" and "manga" and found this picture. I thought it was cute, so all rights reserved and stuff, thanks a lot!
I can finally mention that the time spent in Harajuku wasn't just to look around a kid's toy store.
I actually bought a Moomin Nyoro-Nyoro ghost/worm that the gf liked. It was white, and it's for white day so it seemed appropriate.
I thought to give her chocolates as well. Another Wonka caramel delight wouldn't go astray, so I got them to gift wrap that in the package as well. Hopefully the gf will share that with me!
There was a bit of a huge downpour today, even some rare thunder.
Before I met up with the gf I went to Yamaya to get some more mango juice, cashews, and chocolate spread.
There was only one juice carton on the shelf, so I ripped open a sealed box and got another three from there. You can't have too much of this juice. Looks like the secret is out.
The gf is visiting her mother tonight, so before she left we had a chinese buffet at Kowloon Ten Shin. It's on the 7th floor of the Lumine building next to Shinjuku station where there are a lot of other restaurants.
For 1,887 yen you can eat and drink (tea, juice and soft drink) for 70 minutes between 11am and 5pm. They have a good selection of food. In the end I was quite stuffed. Not bad at all.
On arriving back to the apartment I found that the gf got me some presents too!
Now White Day is supposed to be when the boys reciprocate the gift giving from Valentine's Day, so I was quite surprised that she got me a Penguin moneybox and a small photo album for my pictures. Very nice, thank you!
With the gf away it's so quiet. TOO quiet. I may have to get the guitar out.
This morning I finally got my address changed with the bank.
Yes, I know I've been living in Tokyo for a while now. I heard the horror stories of how difficult it can be. Surprisingly enough I got it done in about ten minutes all by myself. It helped that they got a person who understood english.
One less thing I have to do here.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 8:47 pm 0 comments
Labels: Shinjuku
Thursday, 13 March 2008
Jimmy In Kiddy Land
Today on my day off I went to Aki.., NO, not there, Harajuku!
It's been a while since the last time, and I had a few things to do. Checking out my trip on Google Earth, it actually looks closer than Akihabara so it should take less effort. Going there by myself means that I actually take notice where I am and get to know Tokyo better.
Harajuku was packed with people. I walked slowly through Takeshita St and made my way to Kiddyland.
I could spend all day there. I started at the top floor with the Gundams, and made my way down each floor (yes, Hello Kitty, Moomin, Ghibli, and Gachapin levels).
From there I walked to the nearby MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) Store. This is the gf's favourite shop. A lot of the items look like works of art.
There is a very nice watch by Issey Miyake which seems to be a Seiko brand. At 45,150 yen I think I'll give it a miss for now. I'm still very happy with my recently rejuvenated Swiss Military watch.
Next door to the MoMA shop there is a temporary art space with interesting photos blown up to canvas size. It often changes and today's theme was "water".
From there I wanted to go to the UT store.
This is a Uniqlo shop that sells predominantly T-shirts.
The gimmick here is that the shirts are in cylinders lining the walls. It definitely makes the product look classy. If only the prints on the shirts lived up to the promise.
There weren't any designs that caught my interest. They actually looked like the cheap K-mart brand back home. Pity.
For cool shirts I recommend Hen-T in Shibuya. I mentioned it in a previous post. The shirts are better quality and the prints are pretty funny.
Next I checked out the Audi Forum Building.
Interesting huh?
Definitely a good example of modern architecture here in Japan. I had a look in the Audi showroom.
There was a bright orange TT roadster and the R8 supercar. Both very nice. No, I didn't buy any of them. Not today.While I was there I took a photo from the 7th floor in the elevator. Here you can see Meiji Jingu, the skyscrapers of Shinjuku and a bit of Harajuku down below.
Shortly after I made my way back to Yotsuya. From the lift I could see the military tower of Yotsuya to make a bee-line home before dark.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 7:32 pm 0 comments
Labels: Harajuku
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
Suica Penguin Rockin' The Shin-Kan-Sen!
Thankfully JR (Japan Railways) have brought everyone's favourite Suica Penguin back for an encore.
This time it's to say that we can use Suica mobile on the bullet Shinkansen trains as well.
At least it gives me something else to watch other than the sweet looking "Cook One" girl ad (one of the staff members bears a passing resemblance), and the hypnotising "trainglish" tutorials from a rival school.
You know the one.
Thanks in advance to alzonic for posting the Suica ad. Cheers.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 0 comments
Labels: Suica Penguin
Monday, 10 March 2008
Shinjuku Jacket
Another great day in the centre of the universe known as Shinjuku.
Why do I sound so happy?
Well, I think for once I made a good purchase. Adolfo Dominguez, a spanish designer boutique here is currently having a 50% sale for all their winter season stock.
I tried on a nice dark brown jacket last week that was 38,000 yen, down to 19,950 yen (about AU $200 more or less).
I thought it was a slightly big, but I liked the cut and style of it. It was on the window mannequin so walking past today I was tempted to try it on again.
Later the gf joined me in Shinjuku to help me decide because, on my own I would've been there for hours. I felt sorry for the poor sales girl.
As you can see I went ahead and got it. I think it looks good and it has a detachable hoodie too. I had the guilts for buying it though. (That's what you get from growing up italian).
It's still cold here in Tokyo so I think I've got plenty of time to make use of it before the hotter weather finally comes.
Thanks to the gf for making me look like a model in the photograph. She said, "Make love to the camera".
Ok, she didn't, but it makes good copy.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 8:28 pm 0 comments
Labels: Shinjuku
Sunday, 9 March 2008
Meidaimae Okonomiyaki
Another restless sunday. We almost stayed in all day.
We would have, if we hadn't got an invite to join the gf's friend and her daughter at Nanjya Kanjya, the okonomiyaki restaurant that her friend worked at.
I'm REALLY glad we did. The food was fantastic. I wish I'd have brought my camera. Along with the okonomiyaki we had monja and ankomaki, an azuki paste roll delight.
I played a Nintendo DS linked wirelessly with her daughter's other DS. She seriously kicked my ass at Mario Kart, snickering at my bad play.
This is not a good thing. I may be inclined to get one of these little time wasters one day.
She lent me one of the machines to take home. Probably so next time she has a worthy opponent.
I gave them one pair of my stainless steel mugs I won at the catchers. The Mickey and Minnie one. I think they liked it.
I couldn't help but notice outside Meidaimae station there was a Peace Makers Box.
From what I understand it's pretty much an ordinary police box to help those in need.
Why they don't just call it and make it another Koban is beyond me.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 0 comments
Labels: ankomaki, Meidaimae, monja, okonomiyaki
Saturday, 8 March 2008
Stainless Steal
You'd think after my craziness on wednesday I would've avoided the game arcades like the plague.
No such luck.
I'm trying to think of my rationale, and the only thing I can think of is that it's one of the places I can go where there is zero reliance on speaking japanese. I have no problem whatsoever asking staff to move an item.
"Pink one, sumimasen.."
So, before work I perused the arcades closest to work. I didn't play any. Just looking.
After work I went to the Gento near Minato Mirai. I like some cool mugs with Japanese writing and manga girls, but the way they positioned them made it impossible to win.
I went to Shibuya and looked around the usual places.
One machine drew my interest. A japanese couple were winning some stainless steel Disney coffee mugs easily. The catchers claws were actually picking up the boxes and dropping them in the chute with ease.
I thought at first this must be a fluke, but it happened three times!
Sensing a broken machine, I thought they must have set the sensitivity on this one to "non rip-off" mode.
I couldn't resist so I tried three times and got all three, 300 yen!
I was tempted to keep on going, but my better judgement decided to stop while I was winning.
What am I going to do with all these mugs? I may keep one box. The other two are likely to be gifts.
I just have to decide which one I like the most. Big decision.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:14 pm 0 comments
Labels: Shibuya, UFO catchers
Wednesday, 5 March 2008
Sunshine? Moonlight? Blame It On The Gundam
Business as usual. Work. UFO catchers.
I might have done something tonight to make me stop doing this. Maybe..
I don't want to say about it in detail, but it involved a cash changer and forgetting to take ALL the notes. That's all I want to say.
Anyway the good news here is that I have another Gundam. Mr "Virtue" if you will. He has big guns.
800 yen I think. It's not my best attempts, but from what happened later, it was better than what I did from then on.
In my depression I've broken out the shochu (Not that I really needed an excuse). If I drink enough I will forget what I did. At least I have two other Gundam to cry my sorrows to.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 10:37 pm 0 comments
Labels: UFO catchers, Yokohama
Monday, 3 March 2008
Wired For Rilakkuma Sound
Next on the list of (almost) useless things I don't really need, are Rilakkuma headphones. Oh Yeah!
I was at the Taito Station opposite Kabukichō and I couldn't believe my eyes seeing these hanging easily (and I mean EASY) over the chute.
Walking away would have been very strong of me, so I did what I always do and nudged it in first go for 200 yen.
I asked them to move a Gundam in its place but they weren't making it easy, so I put that off for another time.
I should've stopped on a high. I thought I could win a Rilakkuma mug at another catcher, but after what I'd thought would be an easy 100 yen didn't work.
After that I went back home. For once I figured it would be a good idea to get home before dark.
I opened up the headphone box to try these babies out. To my amazement they don't sound half bad! Sure, they aren't Sennheiser quality, but totally acceptable clarity with a surprisingly good bass output. Sweet.
I may dare myself to wear them on the train to Fujisawa tomorrow. Hmm..
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 9:54 pm 3 comments
Labels: Shinjuku, UFO catchers
Sunday, 2 March 2008
Hama-rikyu Gardens
With an urge to explore, we left the house around 1pm.
For breakfast we had pancakes.
The fake nutella doesn't taste as good as I'd hoped. It tastes like whipped cream and nutella. Not terrible. It went reasonably well with the pancakes we ate this morning.
Today we went to the Hama-rikyu gardens in Shinbashi, near Yūrakuchō and Ginza.
Normally the entrance fee is 300 yen but with a Tokyo tourist guide they knocked off 60 yen. Not a lot, but almost a Crunky.
It's not the most attractive garden I've seen, but it was a pleasant stroll nonetheless.
After walking around for a while and taking a few photos we made our way to Shiodome.
This is an area of urban renewal with modern skyscapers. If the rest of Tokyo looked like this area it'd be a great looking city.
This area has a "Little Italy" feel with many italian restaurants and exhibitions.
In particular we checked out the Shiodome Italia exhibition, with an emphasis on moda (fashion).
If I remembered to charge my camera battery the night before, or not take so many pictures of the cats I could have taken a picture of this area. Oops.
From here we went into the Yūrakuchō district near Ginza. I picked up a Wonka chocolate for 420 yen. I wanted to get two but I only ended up getting the one. We were pretty hungry, so between us it was finished in less than ten minutes.
We looked around for the new Krispy Kreme shop and finally found it in the OIOI (marui) building basement.
Around the Yūrakuchō station I looked up and saw a strange building with a "boat hull" roof. This is the Tokyo International Forum, a convention centre. I don't know why I didn't notice it before. I guess I never looked up.
We were still hungry so we went to Xin-Li, a chinese gyoza restaurant near the station.
The dumplings tasted great. We also had a fried rice and pork dish, and spicy noodles that all tasted really good. For about 3500 yen all up we were fully satisfied. More so than the Shakeys pizzas we had last night.
Before heading home we passed by Roppongi near the tower and the Hanamasa supermarket for some corn chips and salsa. Don't ask me why but I've had a desire for corn chips lately.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 0 comments


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When it comes to the number of ocean cruises versus river cruises, I am a relative river newbie. So when I first boarded the Viking Kvasir in Budapest for a 15-day cruise along the Danube, Main and Rhine en route to Amsterdam, I had some apprehension about the length.
That soon disappeared.
Before 1992, I would never have made this trip. That's when the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal was finished, the dawn of a new era for river cruising because ships were then able to cruise from the North Sea to the Black Sea. While it's impossible to cover 15 days in this space, most of my journey is detailed at portsandbows.com.
Carrying 190 passengers, the Viking Kvasir is the maximum length for the locks: 135 metres. I soon discovered that most passengers are curious, knowledgeable and interesting. After all, you're not on a river cruise for the gambling or big-stage entertainment. This is a comfortable, smooth-running, well-designed ship that helps teach European History 101 over two weeks.
It doesn't take long to find something in common with fellow passengers or staff. A waiter from the Czech Republic was all over the world hockey championship. Adela Kolmanova, the maitre d' from Slovakia, was insistent that I see Cologne Cathedral in Cologne — she laughingly said if I didn't, she wouldn't allow me back on board. A new friend, Mitch from Pittsburgh, compared NHL notes with me every morning.
The three major cities on the route were Budapest, Vienna and Amsterdam. Others included Bratislava, Nuremburg, Cologne, Regensburg and Passau, plus tinier towns like Melk, with its one major attraction — the Benedictine abbey — and even smaller communities like Kinderdijk, with its 19 Dutch windmills.
I was ready for the appetizer that this cruise is: a Coles Notes version of Europe, just enough knowledge to decide when and where you want to return.
I had my favourites.
On the river, it was Danube and Wachau Valley, which runs from Krems to Melk. The Danube wanders, and history is in the small communities that dot the shore. Castles, abbeys and traditions all float by as program director Marianne van Hoogdalem kept us up to date on what to expect around the next bend. Durnstein's Kuenringerburg Castle, now a pile of rubble, had its moment in history when Archduke Leopold was insulted after the Crusades by Richard the Lionheart, who was imprisoned in the castle until a handsome payoff three months later enabled him to return to England.
The Middle Rhine ran a close second to the Wachau Valley.
Budapest was my favourite city. Buda and Pest — pronounced "Pesch" — are joined by the Danube, with Buda on the hill providing a great view of Pest across the river. Coming from Pest, you cross the Chain Bridge and take the funicular to the top. The Royal Palace and Matthias Church are there, along with interesting shops, and restaurants that serve Hungarian goulash, paprika-laced dishes and dumplings.
Pest is more modern, and must-sees are the Central Market, over a kilometre long and one of the finest in Europe, as well as Heroes Square, where you'll find heroes, museums, a city park, a zoo, water sports and one of the largest bath houses in Europe (Szechenyi), with many thermal pools. If your ship docks in Pest, it's only a few blocks to shopping and great nightlife.
River cruising is highly personal. The Viking Kvasir staff went a long way to make the experience unique. Ship management is visible all the time. Have a problem and they find you. Ask for advice on where to eat, shop, visit and they respond with enthusiasm. I was sick for a few days and had more attention than I deserved. When I finally emerged, my stateroom attendant, Dani, said:
"You look great today."
That made my day.


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Leafs build on Boston win; survive 'look past' game, upend Sabres—Habs next
- at 10:52 PM
23 comments:
- AnonymousJanuary 15, 2014 at 11:13 PM
Hi Michael.ReplyDelete
I lost my live stream and missed the end but so glad they managed the 2 points.
when one announcer said both teams would run a long bench I thought -" Oh, you don't know Randy, do you?" Carter played just over 3 min., Orr 3 min. and Jay just over 6--On the 2nd game of a back to back. Scott, on the other hand, had around 8 min. I have to give a tired Leafs team credit for making it all the way to the shoot-out. C.N.
Yes, it would be good if the Leafs were comfortable giving the fourth line some minutes. Ashton may get his chance. McClement is OK with the lesser minutes, as we've discussed here for some time. Thanks C.N.ReplyDelete
- WillburJanuary 16, 2014 at 12:54 AM
Well they got two points. At this point that is all we can ask. They are so far behind on tiebreakers that they will need to win a playoff spot outright. We all know the deficiencies this team has and at this point in the season I don't think that is going to change so any way they get points is crucial.ReplyDelete
I missed my first game this year due to a wicked wind storm (I have heard up to 125k/hour on the radio) that lasted over 13 hours in my area and which knocked out power from 11:30 last night till 1/2 way thru overtime tonight. So far we are the lucky ones, I have heard that some people are going to be out of power for up to 5 days. All I can say is thank God we are having a warm spell right now and it is only going down to -3 overnight. Last week at 40 below would have been deadly. Kind of puts the Leafs problems in perspective for me a bit.Replies
While sports can be a healthy distraction (not always!), you're so right, Willbur. When certain things arise in our lives, we quickly "re-remember" just how much more important health, security, loved ones, etc. are.Delete
I hope everything is restored for everyone out your way, Willbur. Talk soon.
best wishes to you and your family/community wilbur!Delete
- BlueANDwhiteJanuary 16, 2014 at 5:00 AM
Hi MichaelReplyDelete
It was not how we drew it up, but a win is a win. There were times when I thought we could have cashed in with a few more goals and taken over this game. But the Leafs always make it interesting for us. They played hard, competing and forcing turnovers and capitalizing on two of the goals, against a team that struggles giving up a lot of shots as well.
There always seems to be blatant giveaway (ala Franson this time ) every night. Its not that I don't expect mistakes to happen but the aspect of taking a chance to make a play without weighing the consequence of if it does not work. Leaf players need to better judge weighing the reward vs. consequence on plays like making tight passes, pinching to keep the puck in at the blue line. This time it was a soft bank pass off the boards by Franson when there was only one man back. Not the kind of play to make here as it clearly backfired with a two on one going the other way. Even if the puck did get past Moulson there it would not have resulted in a great scoring chance for us. So the gamble was not well calculated. These are the type of mental mistakes that drive us fans crazy. Its not just Franson too, but it seems that we continue to play with fire and repeat these type of mistakes when they can be for the most part be eliminated. The players especially the d men need to make better judgments out there. At least have the forwards backing them up in case it does not work.
Reimer made a great save in the last minute of OT there on Myers. The 3rd goal he gave up was somewhat like the Bruin goal the night before from the side of the net. Those type of goals are considered weak but interesting that Reimer goes on to say that he did everything right on that play from a positional stance but the puck happened to roll in behind him. The replay showed he did have most of the net smothered. So I'm not sure if it really was a bad goal or just bad luck. I would like to hear what you Michael and the commentators think?
Although they did get a goal tonight, I'm waiting for the Lupul Kadri Raymond line to really break out and score some points as there is too much talent there to be held down. Especially since they would be up against second pairing defensemen with the top line taking on the opponents top pairing defencemen.
The third line has been excellent and plays the boards nicely down low. Holland without question brings an offensive dimension to the line making them a threat as well.
I don't see Orr cracking this lineup anymore, especially if Smith or Bolland get back. He has been a good soldier for us and with teams not willing to drop the gloves so much anymore, the need for his play has become near obsolete.
All around I loved how our dmen stood up at the blue line recently more than in many of the games this year. Gleason has brought this element to his game which is often overlooked.
Its amazing how predictable Lupul is in the shootout but manages to still score with the same move. I guess if even Miller a world class goalie who is excellent at the shootout historically knows whats coming and still can't stop it then why change anything right?
Aside from the game itself it is rather interesting that Scrivens fetched the LA Kings only a third round pick. Mind you it may be a high 3rd rounder. Especially since he has had good gaa and save percentage numbers this year. I'll be keeping an eye on how well he does in Edmonton now to see if the LA defensive oriented team game inflated his numbers or not.
But it makes me wonder what Reimer who is more proven would fetch us if he was dealt at the deadline. A high second, perhaps or late first? I'm hoping. Instead I'd rather him stay here but not sure he resigns with the way he feels he has been treated here.
Take on the Habs and keep her rolling boys...Replies
All worthwhile comments in your post as always, BlueANDwhite. Franson is likely trying to "make things happen" at times, which is fine, but you raise a fair point. Sometimes it's better to simply take what is given. Given the pace of the play at that level, I guess those quick judgments are impossible to get right all the time.Delete
The third Buffalo goal was odd. I, too, thought Reimer had done what he could to cover the post. But it was a very peculiar play. Those things happen.
I think the Kadri line will get it going. He has too much talent not to deliver. Unless someone can point out what he is doing so differently from a year ago to demonstrate he why the point production has tailed off, I'll expect the numbers to rebound. And, as others have said, there are three guys on a line. Last season, I thought Kadri made all the wingers he played with better. This year has maybe been (so far) a bit more of an adjustment for him.
Lupul's savvy in shoot-outs has been something this season. Very confident in that situation.
I, too, would rather Reimer be here, of course, but if a trade is the outcome, then it will likely depend on where other teams are at in their goalie hunt in the summer. A late first-round pick may not seem like a lot to a team if they can acquire a netminder who can play well for them right away, and in his prime years. Thanks BlueANDwhite.
- Pete CamJanuary 16, 2014 at 6:58 AM
Ever since Miller made his smart-ass comment about how much he loved to beat the Leafs and shut up their fans he has had his problems against them. Leaf fans give it to him with the sarcastic Miller Miller chant both in tha ACC and in Buffalo which has to be disconcerting.ReplyDelete
I was happy with the Leafs game last night. With 5 games in 7 nights and 8 members of the team suffering in various stages of the flu this was always going to be a gut it out type game. Ted Nolan has the Sabres playing pretty good hockey so this was a gratifying win under difficult circunstances.
I can't help but think that this would have been an ideal time to send the 4th line out for 10-12 minutes. Aston looked good during his short stint. We know what McClement can do and there are a number of Marlies who could play right wing on this line. I just cannot understand or accept Carlyle's intransigence on this point.
I was impressed with Holland and Gleason. They have both stepped up impressively to meet the needs at 3rd line centre and defense.
It looks like the Leafs have the league's most lethal shootout combination in Van Riemsdyk, Lupul and Bozak. I still despise this Bettman skills competition as a way to decide a hockey game but it is reality and it is nice to see that the Leafs have a way to turn it to their advantage.
This has been a nice, but unexpected little win streak. A win Saturday would put them within striking distance of 3rd place. They need to aim high. A wild card spot is just not good enough.Replies
Agreed on your last point, Pete Cam. They can absolutely look to get as high as possible in the standings. And if the depth players, including those you cite, can continue to contribute, that will be key down the stretch. Thanks Pete.Delete
- Pete CamJanuary 16, 2014 at 7:41 AM
We keep harping about the 4th line or lack thereof so I thought I'd insert a 4th line vintage memory at this point.ReplyDelete
Sometime during the 1959-60 season Punch Imlach put together a 4th line consisting of Eddie Shack, Gary "Duke" Edmunson and Johnny Wilson. Shack was an undisciplined enigma at this point, Edmunson was a journeyman banger and Wilson was at the end of a nice career. Funny thing is these very different players clicked and became the high energy "Wrecking Crew". They checked, they hit and generally made things miserable for the opposition. We eagerly awaited their appearance and Maple Leaf Gardens came alive when they took to the ice. They also seemed to energize their teammates and the Leafs played much better after this line was formed.
So I would say to Mr. Carlyle; take a page from Mr. Imlach's book. A good 4 th line can make a definite difference.Replies
Thanks for that, Pete. You know I appreciate those names. I so agree.Delete
I also often think back to Imlach's really good Sabre teams of the mid '70s. They had the great Perreault line, and the wonderful Gare-Luce-Ramsey scoring/checking line, but they could throw out Rick Dudley and Brian Spencer and cause absolute havoc- in a good way. Those guys were tough, could skate, crash the net and the corners and chip in with goals. I'm with you, Pete.
it's so frustrating for a maple leaf fan like myself, living in buffalo, to see such a terrible team (buffalo) give toronto such a hard time... so consistently... for so many years. grrrr. decent effort in the dying minutes of the 3rd for the leafs though.ReplyDeleteReplies
One of those games, Alex, where I guess a win takes precedence over everything else!Delete
- AnonymousJanuary 16, 2014 at 12:25 PM
I didn't watch much hockey in the 60's but I remember how much my Dad loved Eddie Shack. When he yelled "Here comes Shack!" we all ran to watch as players tried desperately to get out of his way. It must have been a great experience to be in the Gardens when Eddie came out. We've had players like Clarke who could lift the team but there's only one Eddie Shack.ReplyDelete
Good Luck in your area, Wilbur. We are watching the news on the windstorms here. What a winter we're having, throughout Canada and the United States.
Montreal next and here I am--married 36 years to a Habs fan. ColleenReplies
Shack was absolutely unique, no question, Colleen- and that's an awful long-time to be married to a Hab guy!Delete
the saying was "Clear the Track, Here Comes Shack". Was a song which was tops on the charts for a number of months.Delete
It is too bad Eddie took his role as "Entertainer" so seriously. He was a gunner coming out of Junior with Guelph Biltmores. While he had five 20+ goal seasons, he may well have been a victim of coaches who could not figure out how to harness him (sound familiar). Too bad we remember him as a fourth line agitator.
Eddie may well be hockey's version of Moe Norman. He may have been a much better hockey player than he even he thought was. There are many stories about Shack. My room-mates in 1960-61 related how Eddie cruised the streets in their hometown (Sudbury) in his Cadillac convertible with no shirt and a Mohawk haircut all summer.
Michael, was he at oldtimer's game? I don't imagine he still sells Christmas Trees in North York?
No, I don't believe Eddie was at the Legends game in Michigan, Ralph (RLMcC).Delete
You reference to Moe Norman is an interesting one. By all accounts Norman was such a pure golfing talent, but largely misunderstood. Maybe a difference is that Shack, to a certain extent, utilized his unconventional reputation to help market his career. Moe did not seem, to be able to get noticed and respected until much later in life, sadly.
Shack was, as you say, an offensive threat. Fine scorer in junior, frustrated in New York but a 20+ goal guy many times, as I recall, in the NHL (once with the Leafs, and then in the expansion years, as well, I think...). Thanks Ralph.
- AnonymousJanuary 16, 2014 at 1:47 PM
Hey Michael,ReplyDelete
The game last night was what it should have been expected to be - hard fought and guts/clutch time - u r at the tail end of a whole bunch of games in a week plus u played on the road the night before and the sabres are purposefully trying to poke you by starting Miller against you. Plus Reimer is rusty, recovering from the flu and lacking in confidence.
Good for the leafs to win this, no matter how they did it - credit where it is due.
One thing I noticed all night - and I don't know if this is the media bias or spin being produced by a company that owns the leafs - but all night it was pointed out by ray ferraro and guys on leafs tv (in the post game) - how kadri lost another draw and not once during the third period - which is the only period I saw - was it pointed out the bozak lost his draw - and he lost a ton - but the one draw he won - it was pointed out instantly.
I HATE this kind of biased reporting - it just sinks into the audience and fans and can create false impressions.
Same with the third Reimer goal - everyone was on him for letting that one in and loosing the lead - but bernier gave up a near identical goal on a play that looked worse to me - since it really seemed impossible for that puck to find a way in - at least the reimer puck was bouncing.
I am also very impressed by the habs - they were mediocre in the beginning but have put together some good hockey and have sort of switched places with the leafs in the standings (as in barely hanging onto a wild card spot).
Keep Warm Wilbur (where ever u r in sask or alberta)
Anon from ScarboroughReplies
You know what, Scarborough Anon- I almost always watch games now with the sound off- no radio or television sound. I can't stand Leaf bias- or broadcasters who clearly don't like the team. I prefer to make my own observations anyway, but you raise a fair point. Broadcasters (and broadcast organizations) have their own personal biases and it impacts their "reporting" of the game.Delete
Great point about the Habs. I have tended to discount them as a small, semi-skilled and very beatable team. But they have had some really solid stretches this season.
- AnonymousJanuary 16, 2014 at 2:40 PM
Guess what is the latest news from the reporter cousin of Dave Nonis:ReplyDelete
Kadri is not going to even be a 2C in the NHL; he has already done developing; saying he will be traded this year.
Reilly is better than gardiner already and thus makes gardiner expendable; Reilly is half defenceman/half winger = dwinger;
I can't believe they are going to resign bolland - because all indications are that they will and thus trade kadri. In my humble opinion they are going to be making the same mistake that they did with John Michael Liles.
Also - if someone wants to read some of the radio talk about the leafs then - https://twitter.com/Hope_Smoke - is a good place to read rather than have to listen all day on radio.
P.S. - the cousin is Darren Dreger of TSN.
Anon from Scarborough
- AnonymousJanuary 16, 2014 at 3:27 PM
The media seems to work very hard to help teams " sell " trades both before and after a trade is done. A trade is a story. A disastrous trade means several stories. I believe trading Kadri and /or Gardiner right now could be disastrous for the Leafs so we see every reporter pushing for it. I hate to see young players portrayed badly and dragged through the dirt just to sell a trade to fans. C.N.ReplyDelete
- BlueANDwhiteJanuary 17, 2014 at 5:10 AM
Sometimes no trade is the best trade. It would be a terrible mistake to sign Bolland longterm right now at the expense of trading Kadri. As Anon from scarborough reminds us they made the mistake with Liles and I hope they don't repeat it. We can evaluate Bolland after he returns to see if he has lost a step and can continue to be effective on the ice first. Kadri reminds me of Ribeiro with some more jam to his game, who blossomed on another team after the Habs gave up on him.
Besides we as an organization do not have immediate depth at center and cannot afford to run into injuries at the center position any time in the future. Holland has showed promise but is nowhere near proven. Kadri has so much of an upside because he is still very young and will only get better.
It would not be fair to negate any trade without considering who the player is returning to the Leafs. So, of course it would depend on which center is coming back for Kadri. We know it will not be a first line center, so that leaves us with the likes of Ryan OReilly, Pavelski, Couture, Kesler, Huberdeau, Skinner.
The most likely of these candidates is OReilly since Colorado is deep at center with Dechene and Stasney if he resigns, they probably don't want to pay OReilly 6-7 million so it would make sense to them to get Kadri and Gardiner for OReilly.
Otherwise Skinner is the only other name we heard mentioned in the rumour mill. But he doesn't fit the bill as he too is smallesh for a first line center.
Kadri and Gardiner for OReilly would be too steep a price to pay I think.
- WillburJanuary 17, 2014 at 11:25 PM
Just wanted to say thanks to everybody for the well wishes. A big thanks to the men and women of ATCO electric, because of their hard work and dedication we had power back on late Wednesday night. Their hard work stood up to yet another night of 70k+/hour winds. True heroes to work in such dangerous conditions to help us get by.ReplyDelete


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Down with the dollar bill: Support switch to coins, end of pennies (Other Views)
Americans don't always embrace change, especially in their pockets.
Still, we think a proposal in Congress backed by Colorado's Sen. Mark Udall to phase out the $1 bill and replace it with dollar coins makes a lot of sense. And, more importantly, it will save a lot of cents.
Under the COINS Act -- or Currency Optimization, Innovation and National Savings, a bipartisan measure Udall is co-sponsoring -- the printing of $1 bills would stop four years after the measure's passage or in the first year in which 600 million dollar coins are circulated.
The Goverment Accountability Office estimates moving from the printed $1 bill, which must be replaced every few years, to coins would save taxpayers about $4.4 billion over 30 years. That's not chump change.
Similar bills have faltered in the past, and the public has not universally warmed to $1 coins. Remember the aggravating Susan B. Anthony dollars that everyone confused with quarters? And while the gold-colored $1 coins bearing the likenesses of Sacagawea or U.S. presidents looked different than other coins, some critics, like Colorado's U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, hated them.
Polis in 2011 introduced his own COINS Act (Cutting Out Inefficient and Needless Spending) to stop production of the gold dollars. President Barack Obama the same year halted production of the coins in what was called an effort to trim waste.
But we think the coins wouldn't be wasteful if they replaced paper bills.
According to a former Treasury Department official, Canada realized savings 10 times greater than estimated by switching from printed Canadian $1 bills to the $1 coin, which natives affectionately call the "looney" and don't complain about using.
While officials are looking at coins, we'd encourage them to once again consider phasing out the penny, which now costs more than twice as much to produce as it's worth. (Canada stopped producing pennies, too.) We know some people would complain about a "rounding tax" at the cash register, but with the number of transactions done electronically these days, it's less of an issue.
One-dollar coins, no pennies -- that's change you can believe in.


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NEA President Goes Back to School
NEA's back-to-school activities to highlight "Raise Your Hand for Public Education" initiative
WASHINGTON - September 09, 2013 -
As students and educators head back to school, the National Education Association has a full backpack of activities to raise awareness of new initiatives and practices, to provide resources about the Common Core State Standards for parents and teachers and to fight the unfortunate, ever-present attacks on public education, schools and students.
NEA's "Raise Your Hand for Public Education" is a national initiative that aims to supercharge the drive for public education and student success. The foundation of the effort rests on the strong belief that educators – not politicians or self-proclaimed "reform" experts – know what works and they are the ones to lead and act for student success. The initiative has identified four simple yet ambitious goals: successful students, accomplished professionals, dynamic collaboration and empowered school leaders.
"Our members are coming together to help lift up our good ideas, smart policies, and successful programs and spread them to every corner of the country," said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. "We want to harness the passion of our members and empower educators, parents, and community leaders who share our commitment to fulfilling the promise of public education and prepare every student to succeed."
NEA's Van Roekel is also hitting the road to visit students and educators as they head back to school. He will join local and state education leaders across the country in highlighting public school innovation, partnerships and educator- and union-led school transformation efforts.
President Van Roekel will draw attention to the many challenges educators and students are facing as they return back to school, including ongoing cuts to education funding, implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) without the guarantee of the time or tools to get it right, the fight to get or hold onto pre-K and full-day kindergarten and efforts by politicians to strip collective bargaining from workers. The tour will stop in Portland, Ore.; Salem, Ore.; Chicago, Ill.; Minneapolis, Minn.; and Boston, Mass.
"This fall's landscape is radically different. Students and teachers face unprecedented challenges from larger classes to shrinking programs to implementing the new standards without sufficient professional development or updated textbooks. But what hasn't changed is educators' steadfast commitment to students," said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. "We must work together to help more students, more ways, more effectively. We all—teachers, education support professionals, students, parents, elected officials and community leaders—are accountable for our children's success."
NEA was fully engaged in the development of CCSS and has partnered with affiliates to ensure educators' voices and expertise are leading the effort to develop relevant and engaging instructional materials and help develop the strongest next-generation assessments possible. The Association will release the results of a member-wide poll on CCSS this Thursday, September 12th.
The effective implementation of the Common Core State Standards will help ensure that each student is prepared for the future – career or college. They are a game changer for the tens of millions of students in public schools. Governors from both parties in 45 states came together and agreed that students should be able to think critically, solve problems, compete and excel globally. As strong as they are, these standards will not succeed unless school districts provide the support educators need to be properly trained in how to integrate them into their classrooms and parents truly understand their intent.
"It's now up to parents, educators, elected leaders and others in communities across the nation to make sure states get Common Core right for their students. Regardless of where students live, how much money their parents make—all of our students deserve a fair shot at a promising future—providing this kind of equity in education is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss," said Van Roekel, a longtime math teacher from Arizona.
For more resources and a comprehensive set of back-to-school educator-tested tips, advice, and resources for educators and parents, visit: www.nea.org/backtoschool. The site includes:
- Educator-tested tips, advice and resources for back to school
- 5 things to consider when purchasing a backpack for students
- Preparing for and conducting parent-teacher conferences
- CCSS Toolkit
- Back-to-School activity guide
For tour highlights and photos visit http://www.nea.org/home/2013-national-back-to-school-tour.htm
Listen to the radio PSAs here: http://m.soundcloud.com/neatoday
Follow us on twitter @NEAMedia
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The National Education Association (www.nea.org) is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.
CONTACT: Celeste Busser, (202) 822-7823, email@example.com


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Yesterday's post, had me thinking about thumbprint cookies, and how much I want one.
Ok, so I wasn't able to work some greens into the recipe. So what? I thought I'd make a compromise with myself and try a vegan baked good instead.
Ha. Ha. Ha.
So here's what happened:
First, I found a recipe (thank you Barefoot Contessa), then I got all sorts of creative, halved it, and veganized it. Or so I thought. The goal was to come up with a coconut crusted, lemon thumbprint cookie. Well, I noticed that the recipe called for an egg-wash to help the coconut stick, and eggs aren't vegan friendly. No biggie, since the dough itself wasn't sticky enough to help the coconut adhere on its own, I scrapped it altogether.
Now I thought I was own a roll:
Coconut oil- check
vanilla extract (or lemon zest)-check
lemon filling-check.
I mixed everything together, minus the lemon filling, and taste tested as I went. Do you know how flippin GOOD coconut oil and sugar is? Yeah, neither did I. Consider me a convert.
Then I stuffed the dough into my cookie press. It was too thick and didn't work.
On to plan B: slice and bake!
Ok, now I was doing well again. I sliced up the dough, set it on my pan, made a little indent in the middle of each slice, topped them with lemon filling and popped them in the oven.
While I was waiting, I read the side of the jar of lemon filling:
DAIRY! Major fail. The cookies aren't vegan anymore, but they are good!
Lemon Drop Cookies (inspired by Ina Garten's recipe)
3/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
dash of sea salt
1/2 tsp lemon zest
lemon curd for filling (use jam to keep this vegan!)
preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix coconut oil, sugar, flour, salt and zest together in a medium-sized bowl. If you are doing this with a spoon you may want to soften the coconut oil first. 15-20 seconds in the microwave should do the trick.
Next, roll out tablespoon sized cookies and place on cookie sheet. If you do this immediately after making the dough- and DO NOT refrigerate it- you should be able to roll in coconut flakes. I made the mistake of storing the dough in the refrigerator overnight and it lost a lot of its moisture. It was also impossible to work with.
Now, with the back of a spoon, make a little indent in the top of each cookie and place about a teaspoon of lemon curd in the impression.
Pop the cookies in the oven for 12-15 minutes & enjoy.