michael lambe

“They called me “Sensei”, and I accepted that with a straight face. I have nothing worth boasting about. No learning to speak of. No talent. My body’s a mess, my heart impoverished. Only the fact that I’ve known suffering, enough suffering to feel qualified to let these youths call me “Sensei” without protesting - that’s all I have, the only straw of pride I can cling to. But it’s one I’ll never let go of…” Osamu Dazai

Now if you took that quote and changed the word “suffering” for “games” it would probably fit quite well - except I don’t know that many games. It’s quite hard for me to keep a straight face when my students call me “Sensei” too. Today I came up against the harsh reality of the 3rd year students at the Junior High School. They are going through that difficult age it seems. That’s what Leilani said anyway. Don’t take it to heart she said. But of course I do. Anyway, if anyone has any games they’d like to recommend for stroppy Junior High girlies who really just want to sit around comparing nail varnish and having a good gossip - let me know. Meanwhile I’m looking forward to forgetting it all at earth day in Yoyogi Park this weekend. Looking forward to seeing some Tokyo friends if you’re available. LINK

Here’s something else to look forward to:
LINK
Please note: Japan is “languishing at the bottom of the league”. Anyone else thinking of moving to Austria?

So I had this dream the other night that the Queen (Elizabeth) had been found dead in a bathroom in Buckingham Palace with a pearl handled pistol of antique design. The press handled the subject delicately but it seemed pretty clear the old dear had topped herself. After all, how does one accidentally shoot oneself in THE BATHROOM? In my dream my brother-in-law John, kept repeating “It’s a smoking gun, innit?”. Anyone care to interpret that one for me?

Finally, here’s something lovely I found that I wish I’d found sooner:
LINK
The Endicott Studio is producing a poetry e-card for each day of April. The month’s not over yet, so there’s still time to send one to someone you care about (if they speak English). Quite a nice site to browse through actually. Here’s a poem I liked from the same site:
LINK
If you don’t click on any of the links I posted today, click on that last one. It’ll take you a minute to read it and it’s very nice indeed.