Avoiding Only Putting The ‘Little’ Into ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’

Dragged out of lethargic sloth, I joined Mrs. Kangaeroo in watching the Tachikawa Twinkle Garden projection mapping event on a bleak Sunday, with only dextrous digits saving the show from putting the “little” into Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

After being bombarded by Facebook ads for weeks, I was pretty keen on going to the event.

But when Sunday dawned, it was cold, bleak and wet. Mrs. Kangaeroo had put in a nightshift, and I was happy enough to idle the day away, basically being a pig.

But the erstwhile warrior that she is, my spouse dragged me out of my sloth, onto the Tama Monorail and into Tachikawa to see the show.

We arrived with enough time to have dinner at Tachikawa Gyoza Stand Green Springs, which I wasn’t impressed with when I saw the prices and need to order using QR codes, but now feel compelled to write about because it tasted so great, even though we only basically ate snacks.

After the quick meal, we were ready for the show.

And I almost regretted going.

The projection mapping was divided into three sections: the first a story about a boy and a fairy; the second regarding animals in the Tama region; and the third was a performance by Xtrap, a finger kaleidescope group that I had never heard of before.

With all due respect to the efforts of the artists, the first two sections were lousy and many people walked out, even though it was a free public display.

But then, Xtrap came on. They were absolutely magnificent! It was wonderful to watch the show by the young performers moving their fingers with grace, dexterity and synchronization to create a dazzling display.

Xtrap really saved the night and made the event worthwhile. After moaning and grumbling for most of the evening, it turned out to be a fabulous night, bookended by a great walk to and from the station.

Cop A Gander At These Rippers Too...

  • | |

    Why Does Australia’s National Food Cost Less In Japan Than It Does At Home?　豪産でも誤算じゃないの？豪国民食は日本で買った方が安いのはおかしくない？

    Meat pies, Australia’s national dish, are cheaper in Japan (even though they’re made in Bairnsdale) than they are in Australia.　オーストラリアの国民食であるミートパイが豪産にも関わらず日本で買っても安い。 Tim Tams, too, up with Aussie Beef as a symbolic food from Down Under, sell in Tokyo for a fraction of the price that Aussie consumers pay for the bikkies.　お馴染みのオージービーフと並べてオーストラリアの代表的な食品であるティムタムも日本で買った方が安い。 I haven’t looked up the price of Australian beef, but I’d reckon there’s a good chance Japanese consumers have a world away are getting it cheaper than their Australian counterparts.　オージービーフの値段を調べていないが、上記の傾向によって恐らく原産国が地球の半分ぐらい離れている日本の消費者がまたオーストラリアの消費者ほど払わないで食べられているかと推測しています。 This is happening because there is a duopoly controlling Australian supermarkets, according to The Australia Institute, a public policy think tank. The Institute argues that Coles and Woolworths (Colesworth!), the…

  • |

    「やばいリンガル」Grouse （最高！）

    　 「フェーマスグラウス（Famous Grouse)」は世界中で有名なウィスキーであり、grouseは米・英語圏ではライチョウの意味だけど、オージー英語になると完全に意味が異なる。さて、どのように？ 　Outside of Australia, grouse is the name of a bird, most notably the one that gives its name to the globally recognized whiskey Famous Grouse. But what happens when the word gets Down Under?

  • Bung On An Act

    Bunging on an act in Australian English, or Strine, means to pretend, or fake. オージー英語（ストラインとも言う）では、「bung on an act」は「見せかける」か「演技する」という意味。ちなみに、bung onも独特なオージー英語でもあり、「する」の砕けた言い方。 Strine Dictionary | 考えRoo

  • | |

    Beware The Creatures Of The Night

    Much to the chagrin or Mrs. Kangaeroo, our garden is filled with all sorts of weird and wonderful Australian creatures, and they’re designed to look nice nocturnally. We have all sorts of kangaroos. Their sizes range from life-sized to tiny. A similar story goes for koalas. We have a koala couple. And another pair climbing one of our wattles. And there is even a learned fellow who reads a book. Considering we are supposed to be a kangaroo-themed garden, you could possibly say we are a bit over koala-fied. Aside from the marsupials, we’ve also got a wombat, and a couple of monotremes. We have both an echidna and a…

  • Biking Biblically

    This morning’s sky was, for a brief instant at least, biblical, in the sense that rays of the rising sun briefly broke through the clouds of the overcast morning as though some majestic deity was bursting forth to greet the day. I’m not a believer, but I pray…almost constantly. Fear dominates my life. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. Never really works….always feel completely out of my depth, helpless and hopeless. I try to counter that by reminding myself of what I should be grateful for. There is a lot….

  • |

    豪キャブラリー： Telly

    　インターネットの普及前にはおそらくtellyが世界最大の通信媒体となっていただろう。人々が行けない世界を茶の間に持ってきてくれたものだった。もちろん、tellyがtelevisionの省略だ。厳密に言えば、tellyは独特なオージー英語ではなく、イギリス英語であり、北米以外の英語圏ではよく使われている。 　 　ちなみに、教育などを助長しながらも、レベルが低い番組も多く、テレビは俗語でidiot box（おバカ箱という意味）とも呼ばれている。