Ryan |
July 23, 2010
Getting on the plane at Narita was gut wrenching. The realisation that my Tokyo trip was over had hit me square between the eyes. Real life was beckoning once more. It wasn’t all bad though. What I’d realised whilst in Tokyo was that my Japanese abilities had improved. Massively. I was not only able to make myself understood pretty articulately, I was also finding that understanding people’s responses was a hundred times more successful than I’d ever thought it would be. And reading signs, menus, flyers, newspapers, novels even, was not half as soul destroying as I’d assumed it was going to be. Continue reading
Podcast: Download (Duration: 10:36 — 5.0MB)
Posted in Japanese
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Ryan |
July 3, 2010
I’ve started a million and one articles on Caught*Red-handed with one, simple sentence: ‘I love Japan’. In fact, it would be easier to count the posts that haven’t begun with me slavering all over my most favourite, beautiful, beautiful archipelago of islands. That said however, I learnt pretty early on in life that books should not be judged solely by their covers and every rule, no matter what it is, has an exception. For that reason, C*R-h reports this time on something less than desirable about this highly coveted country. In fact, this time I ask just one, straightforward question: why? Continue reading
Podcast: Download (3.5MB)
Posted in Politics
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Ryan |
June 17, 2010
You know, there’s some real special places in Japan. It has sugar-coated mountaintops, it has delectable marzipan beaches and just about everything in between. One minute you can be corralled on the corner of a crossroads, just one bee in a million caught within the confines of Tokyo’s many human hives, the next you can be off the beaten track, the wind in your hair, the sun beating down, not a person to be seen for miles around.
I suppose the danger with having so much to choose from is that unquestionably, at some point, you are going to get caught up in the mêlée of tourists making their way along a path trodden by a billion other people. But is that necessarily a bad thing? And do you have to get out of other people’s way to spot some real gems? Is having the same photographs in your album as every other person whose visited Japan all that terrible? I’d argue not, but you knew I’d say that, right? Continue reading
Posted in Tokyo
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Ryan |
May 2, 2010
When you think of Yoko Ono, what immediately pops into your mind? Yup, me too. You see, humanity has this uncanny knack of thinking almost completely in superlatives. And so unfortunately, (though I speak not from personal experience, obviously) the problem with being famous yourself but then being married to quite possibly one of the most famous people that has ever lived, is that ultimately people will always bridge the gap to the highest common denominator. And so Ono ends up at Lennon, quite like Camilla ends up at Charles, Lisa ends up at Elvis, China ends up at Japan, Gordon ends up at David and Microsoft ends up at Apple… Thinking in superlatives: sometimes it’s useful, but for this post, it’s annoying. Continue reading
Podcast: Download (Duration: 19:16 — 9.2MB)
Posted in 有名！
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Ryan |
April 17, 2010
I’m mental. It’s taken me a while to decide this, but I actually think that now, with more than just a smidgen of actuality that I can prove it. The evidence is stacking up against me. This morning, when I was putting on my clothes, washing my face and making for the office, I found myself humming the Japanese national anthem. Why? God only knows. Then again, as I was making my way back to my piddling little apartment in the middle of Manchester, I found myself reciting the Japanese syllabaries, line by line. I haven’t done that since I began learning Japanese all those years back. So why was I doing it? Again, I have no idea. And finally, as I was following the deluxe miso soup recipe in theワガママ cookbook tonight, I found my mind drifting, thinking at a terrible speed that I had lost my passport and that I was never going to be able to find it. And why? Well, this time I knew exactly why. This time, my day’s Japanese-related antics all came flooding back, smacking me in turn in the face with a huge dollop of realisation.
In just 23 days I will be leaving this overrated, dull, dilapidated country that I live in, I will be flying half the way around the world and on the morning of Sunday 9th May I will be stepping off the plane at Narita, catching a train to downtown Tokyo and beginning the first of my two and a half week escapade in Japan. And if you hadn’t realised already, I’m more than a little preoccupied by the whole, darn thing… Continue reading
Podcast: Download (Duration: 9:27 — 4.7MB)
Posted in Tokyo
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Ryan |
April 9, 2010
There comes a time in every Jblog’s Life when things just ‘Have To Change’. Read on to find out how you could be exactly the change that Caught*Red-handed is looking for! Continue reading
Posted in Job opportunity
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Ryan |
April 2, 2010
This morning I had a dream. And no, my name is not Martin, Luther, or King. That I was stood at Shinjuku station and I was lost. And no matter how fast I tried to move, my legs, due to the fact that they had suddenly turned into lead weights, would not move at all. There were people all around, as there usually are at Shinjuku station, swarming in and out of the various entrances, exits, vestibules, crevices and walkways of the labyrinth that is the station itself. And they were all laughing heartily, probably at me, but you never can tell with dreams. As the dream developed, I soon realised that no matter which of 200 odd exits I tried to use to get me out of the station (once I’d managed to get there due to my weird leg complaint, of course), I realised pretty fast that in fact I was going to be in the depths of the station for possibly the rest of my life. Or at least until the end of the dream. The station had entrapped me. Continue reading
Podcast: Download (Duration: 12:08 — 5.9MB)
Posted in Society, Uncategorized
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Ryan |
March 13, 2010
“Mayday, mayday, urgent assistance needed! Mayday. Can anybody hear me?” Only a static grumble. Again. Not a single solitary person has heard my call. I grab for the receiver again, my finger poised to press to the ‘Execute’ button.
“This is Omega-JLPT, hearing you loud and clear. Do you copy?”
Finally! A response. I hit ‘Execute’: “Omega-JLPT, this is Caught*Red-handed, I copy you. Mayday situation, can you assist?”
Silence. Have they heard me? Then, through the static, faint, barely audible: “Caught*Red-handed, your distress call is being heard loud and clear. What is your location?”
“Omega, I’m just off March 2010, about three months south of JLPT 2009. I haven’t seen land for three months, I think I’m in the Sea of Hiatus, though I can’t be sure.”
“The Sea of Hiatus? You mean you haven’t seen any Japanese since the JLPT?”
“Affirmative. Mayday, mayday. Can you help?” Suddenly, the line goes dead… Continue reading
Podcast: Download (Duration: 9:13 — 4.3MB)
Posted in JLPT, Japanese, giveaway
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Ryan |
March 7, 2010
Welcome back, kids. It’s been a while, really it has. I never expected my break from blogging to be quite so pronounced, but like most things, you never can tell, can you! Anyway, I’m back. I’ve fired up the C*R-h boiler, thrown on a few more pieces of coal for good measure, and things are warming up nicely again. Go get yourself your favourite drink, pick up a bite to eat, or simply get down to reading some quality Caught*Red-handed. It’s good to have you back… Continue reading
Posted in Review
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Ryan |
February 20, 2010
Some people have said that he’s done a runner, others have bets on finding him dragged out of the bottom of the ocean. Still more imply that their money’s on robbery, GTA or some other crime, whilst others say they’ve had sightings of him in remote locations in all different parts of the world. Whatever the answer, Caught*Red-handed has come to a standstill and people are starting to ask questions…
Caught*Red-handed will be continued on Saturday 6th March 2010 with all the answers as to why the island moves, who shot Archie Mitchell, and how the Oracle killed Agent Smith, but for now it’s またね…
Posted in TBC
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