Damn...that's a BIG BABY!!!

Alright. it's Valentine's Day here in Canada...and other places around the world as well. I spent the afternoon at the National Art Gallery here in Ottawa and I wasn't alone. My entire Teacher Education section from the University of Ottawa went to the Gallery this afternoon for our Arts class. Mai came along as well and we all had a good ole time. I've been to the Gallery at least 4 or 5 times since I moved to Ottawa last summer. The most exciting part of this trip for me was to see the BIG BABY...as I call it or as it's properly called, "A Girl" by the Australian artist Ron Mueck.


Here it is..."A Girl" by Ron Mueck....or as I call it....the big ole gross baby!!! This thing is huge. It seems that most people are either horrified by it or think it's great. Either way, everyone is transfixed by it!


"A Girl" was donated to the National Gallery last Fall. Here I am hammin it up. As you can see...it's damn big. The eeirest thing about it is the detail. You can see the amniotic fluid, the pores on the skin and the hair looks especially realistic...therefore...nasty.


Some classmates wanted to capture the moment in a complimentary pose! Shall I call this one "A Girl and A Boy"?

According to CBC news...."A Girl is a 4.5-metre-long sculpture of a newborn, her eyes half shut and hands clenched, and umbilical cord still attached.

Mueck uses modern acrylics and other sculptural techniques taken from the film industry to create the true colours and textures of human skin, but all of his sculptures are out of scale — either much larger or smaller than their inspiration."



Here's an intersting blurb about Canadian English Teachers...in Canada. I read this in the Korea Times. The great Korean "Unqualified vs. Qualified" ESL teacher debate continues...and will for the next 10,000 years I think!
Canada’s English Programs


More crappy news for some of Nova's former language instructors in Japan...
Neo-Nova "Fires" Instructors

Some more sad news about the tragic fire that destroyed Seoul's Namdaemun Gate...
Collapsed Landmark Draws Mourners


TABERNACK!!!! As they say here in Canada. Damn...what do you do when you need to take a train somewhere, but the ticket guy is sleeping in????? Well...some folks in Japan suffered this "inconvenient" fate...
Train passengers unable to use ticket machines after employee sleeps in

Japan Vlogs and Vacation farewells....

Semester two begins soon. New classes and a few new instructors. I suppose one of the classes that initially caused the most anxiety for me at the beginning of last term was Mathematics. My childhood memories of Math class had left me traumatized....or so I thought. I realized that I really don't dislike Math, I just didn't have teachers who taught it well. Much to my surprise, I enjoyed my Math class last term and really liked teaching it to my 3rd graders for 5 weeks as well.

Today some of my friends in the Teacher Education department will get together for a "Hello, how was your New Year/Let's have a fewpints before it begins again" party. Good chance to catch up on everyone's holidays. These things are usually pot-luck style and Mai usually makes some killer food to bring. Think she's making gyoza (Japanese dumplings) to bring today....yummy!!!

Mai and I have been talking about my upcoming move to Japan (after graduation of course) and I've been watching a lot of vlogs of foreigners living in Japan on YouTube. While watching some, I came across this funny Australian tv commercial...check it out.

Ad - When a Japanese Baby is Born

"Holy Stereotypes Batman!!"...made me giggle though.

So, back on the topic of cool vlogs about Life in Japan....here are a few I've been watching a lot of.

TokyoCooney...this guy is an aspiring comedian and writer living in ...well...Tokyo. He's from the States. I've been following his vlogs for more than a year now...good stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/tokyocooney

Softypapa...is a foreigner married to a Japanese woman living in the countryside of Japan. His videos are a very different take on life in japan. Most vlogs I see are from foreigners living in the heart of big cities like Tokyo and Osaka. Softypapa's vids are a refreshing change.
http://www.youtube.com/softypapa

Zenhill...is an Australian living outside of Osaka. His wife is Japanese and has a newborn son in Osaka. His vlogs have a mix of humour, practical knowledge and other cool elements.
http://www.youtube.com/zenhill

There are lots of other interesting vlogs about Life in Japan and I'll post some more sometime later on.