After the Apocalypse….

We’ve just had a wonderful weekend enjoying the pleasures of the Tama Hills Recreation Area, which combines luxurious quarters with wild, somewhat terrifying scenery reminiscent of what a world without humans might look like.

It’s the latter that continues to delight me in the bi-annual visits we’ve been fortunate to make over the past decade or so, though such opportunities may about to draw to a close.

We will enjoy them while we can, though.

Cop A Gander At These Rippers Too...

  • | |

    若かりしジョニー・デップの珍しい豪訪問

    　今月また来日するハリウッド大スタージョニー・デップ氏がちょこちょこ日本に来ることにも関わらず、オーストラリアとあまり縁がない。 Hollywood heartthrob Johnny Depp is a regular visitor to Japan, and is due to return again later this month, but he hasn’t shown his face so often in Australia. 　初回オーストラリアに訪問したのが１９８８年「２１ジャンプ・ストリート」出演する時の同番組PR訪問。 His first visit Down Under was way back in 1988, when he made a whirlwind trip to promote 21 Jump Street, the show he was then appearing in. 　それに伴った当時オーストラリアで最も人気だったテレビ番組Hey, Hey It’s Saturdayのセグメントに出た。同番組が１９９８年６月２５日に上映し、後で世界的に大スターとなるカイリー・ミノーグ氏妹ダニー・ミノーグ氏を一緒に出演する。 番組終了出国後、「アリス・イン・ワンダーランド」に纏わる訪問で２０１０年まで再びオーストラリアに行くことがなかった。 Depp appeared on the Red Faces segment of Hey, Hey It’s Saturday, then Australia’s most popular program. He appeared on the program with Dannii Minogue, then perhaps better known in Australia than her soon to be globally famous singing older sister, Kylie. The show aired on…

  • Offsider/アシスタント

    Offsider Australian English An assistant or a helper. It can also be used to describe a very close friend. 日本語 １） アシスタント。補助員。お手伝いする人。ヘルパー。 ２） とても仲がいい友達のこと。 Plain English 1) A helper, assistant. 2) A very close friend. Strine Dictionary

  • バナナを曲げる人々 People who Bend Bananas

    Australian English accents don’t really have regional differences. Somebody in Perth in the far southwest will sound reasonably similar to someone from Townsville in the far northeast, over 6,000 kilometers away. Considering the area involved – Australia is 26 times bigger than Japan – it’s amazing. 　オージー英語は、地方によっての訛りの違いがあまりみられない。オーストラリアの西南部にあるパースの人も、そこから約６０００キロも離れている東北部にあるタウンズビルの人も、訛りにたいした違いはない。広さのことを考えてみれば、驚くべき事だ。（だってオーストラリアの面積は日本の２６倍もあるんだから！）

  • |

    Thwack! Roo Taking No Nonsense From Paraglider

    An Aussie paraglider copped a shellacking from the national symbol recently, going global with a video showing a kangaroo attacking him as he landed near Canberra. The paraglider offered a warm welcome to the ‘roo only for the mean marsupial to pounce at the intruder and let loose with a couple of decent whacks. The kangaroo bounded off, leaving the paraglider unharmed except for a case of hurt pride and footage that has not gone viral.