I am not a person with an interest and hobby of art.

However, I fully understand that art is something people are passionate about doing, watching or discussing.  

People love asking "Do you like art?""What style of art do you like?" or"Any favorite artists or museums?"

Very tough question for me.

I need small pieces of information because I have nothing. I need something to keep this conversation going. Let's prepare some.

By the way, do you know what's art? I should be struggling to explain it in English. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, "Art is a visual object or experience consciously created through an expression of skill or imagination. The term art encompasses diverse media such as painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, decorative arts, photography, and installation." Let me dig into each. No.1, "Painting" might be the first form of art when people need to think of art. You might know some artworks of painting such as Mona Lisa, The Birth of Venus, The Scream and Water Lilies etc... No.2, "Sculpture" is the art of creating three-dimensional forms by carving, modelling, welding, or assembling materials such as clay, stone, metal, wood, or plastic for instance, Venus de Milo, Michelangelo or Rodin’s ‘The Gates of Hell’. Japanese people call it "A thinking person", though. No.3, "Printmaking" encompasses various techniques for creating multiple copies of an image, typically on paper or fabric. No.4, "Drawing" involves creating images using lines, marks, or shading on a two-dimensional surface, usually paper. 

I was going to ask this question. What is the difference between drawing and painting!! According to Angelo Accardi, the main difference is that drawing is a process that is done with a pencil or a pen, and painting is done with a brush or a paint-pot. Okay. That kind of convinced me. No.5, Decorative arts refer to objects created for both aesthetic and functional purposes, such as furniture, ceramics, textiles, glassware, metalwork, and jewelry. No.6, Photography is the art of capturing and producing images using a camera and light-sensitive materials. I know it. No.7, Installation art involves creating an environment or artwork within a specific space, often incorporating various elements such as sculpture, found objects, video, sound, and light. Installation is kind of hard to understand for me, but once you google the word "Installation" you can get a rough understanding of it. For Japanese people, I would say, team lab stuff. This fundamental knowledge of arts should be good to know. 

Let's answer the question "Do you like art?" or "What style of art do you like?"

I would say, Just be honest with you, I am not a big fan of art. Ultimately, I cannot even recall or name the world wide known famous artworks. But I love visiting museums for some reason. Even though I am not familiar with that exhibition, I can fully enjoy visiting there. I have been to Louvre Museum in Paris once around 10 years ago. That was really specious and architecturally splendid, I feel like I was in more amusement park than the museum. Although it took me the entire 2 days to look around, I never felt tired. 

When it comes to the style of the arts, I would love to see installation art because it tends to have some sort of experience of art. I can easily feel overwhelmed or amazed by the scale, beauty, or complexity of the installation. By the way, I am open-minded to experience anything new to me. So if I have a chance, will definitely try to immerse myself in the world of art!

おめも青森さこながさー

We have a lot of opportunities to talk about our own hometown since Vancouver is a melting pot where people from all over the world. People ask "Where are you from?" with each other all the time. Honestly, I am kind of tired of this question and since once I told them I am from Japan, the second words tend to be "Arigatou gozaimasu" and "Konichiwa" which requires me to praise them like "Wow that is impressive""Good pronunciation" or something. I experienced it more than 100 times. 

Anyways, talking about people’s hometowns is fun. That would be the best first step to getting to know each other, moreover, it is easy to start a conversation. Usually, people don't hesitate to speak about their hometown except for the case of refugees. You can just open Google Earth and ask" Where is your hometown?" and then just enjoy a virtual tour together. Keep conversation by asking "Any favourite place?" Any go-to restaurants?" or"What is famous for?" Easy.

The problem is the time when you need to explain your hometown. Asking is easy but answering is not. Let me give you some tips to express your home town well. No.1, stock some words to express"Beautiful". We are good at finding beautiful places there. But it is better to stop saying "beautiful". My recommendation would be "majestic""picturesque" and "spectacular" instead. No.2, good to have several words to express how rural or not because it would be separated roughly two. rural or not. Rural areas could be explained as calm, serene or peaceful, on the other hand, when you want to express Tokyo, let's say Urban, developed or Bustling.  No.3, when it comes to people's character, you can say, Close-knit: Characterized by strong relationships and a sense of community among residents, Charming or Welcoming if you feel friendly enough.  

Now. let us use these new vocab to introduce my hometown as an example.

My hometown lies in the northern region of Japan within Aomori Prefecture, a predominantly rural serene area across the country. Its climate resembles that of Vancouver, featuring pleasant summers and long winters with heavy snowfall. What sets my hometown apart is its unique dialect, characterized by distinctive intonations and entirely different words, often leaving even other Japanese speakers perplexed. Though initial encounters may seem reserved, the community fosters tight-knit bonds, transforming into a close-knit and charming environment over time. I cherish my hometown for its spectacular natural landscapes and the lively atmosphere during the annual Nebuta festival, a historic celebration that infuses the summer with vibrant energy.

So, now you wanna visit my hometown in the future? Let's think about your hometown and get ready to introduce it to our future friends! 

「リスト」ってなんでも楽しいよね

This is something really fantastic to think about. Today we are going to talk about Bucket List. This is a list of several experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime. 

Back in 1999, the screenwriter Justin Zackham was thinking about that phrase when he began composing a checklist that he called, “Justin's list of things to do before he kicks the bucket.” The idiom "kick the bucket" is really common that means pass away, die. After a while, the movie "Bucket List" is a 2007 American buddy comedy-drama film directed and produced by Rob Reiner, written by Justin Zackham, and starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.

Now get straight to the point, What's on your bucket list? 

Some people are dreaming about visiting iconic locations such as the Taj Mahal or the Statue of Liberty, which you would love to see before you die, or travelling to all seven continents. The other people are aiming to do something specific such as breaking a certain record, attending a certain concert or seeing a certain celebrity. What's yours? If you haven't created it yet, I do recommend creating yours because it should not only help make a future plan more clearly but also it is fun! A bucket list would make you thrilled to get old and be in the future!

Let me tell you mine. Mine is definitely unconventional. No.1, brew original beer and wine. It is actually feasible for me within the near future since I have a rough understanding and a big picture of it. This is the most fascinating thing to dream about because brewing original beer or wine could be my lifetime hobby to seek out my best as well as my dream side job.  No.2, this is something I am dreaming of in secret in my mind, I wanna do standup somewhere in my life once I get comfortable joking about anything I want. I went to watch a local standup comedy once before which was pretty fun but simultaneously extremely difficult to understand because of my level of English and understanding of the culture behind the jokes. But I feel like I will be able to capture how structured it is and get the points, so this should be one of the motivations to keep learning English going forward.  No.3, Be an owner of my business. This sounds like I will be an entrepreneur but not always. To me, this will be a situation in which I don't have to work with people I feel stressed about being with. Besides, it puts me in a situation in which I can control the amount, place and people. I am responsible for how much time I work, where I work and who I work with. This is what I want to reach out to in my life.

That's everything for me at this moment. One thing interesting for me is everything on my budget list looks less expensive in terms of making it happen. I have been kind of facing too many financial challenges throughout my life, I somehow naturally avoid dreaming about something that seems to cost a lot. That's kind of funny.

What's on your bucket list? Tell me yours! 

クラスでもみんなバックトゥザフューチャーとかの話したいのにガン無視でピンポン紹介してた

This question is really common in any English exam such as IELTS as well as in a casual conversation among friends. This question always breaks my ass. Now you can guess why. Yes, because I am not a big fan of movies. I seldom watch movies even if we better watch them as much as we can to attain new vocabulary. But it is hard to stay in front of the screen or laptop for over 2 hours, in most cases, I will most likely fall asleep...

However, preparation should be the key. The only purpose we are doing this is to make our conversation with future friends last as long as I can. Just be candid to answer the question no matter how much I am into movies.

Before that, let us look at some useful vocabulary in expressing your opinion regarding the movie.

No.1, "Cinematic Triumph" is a grandiose term to describe a highly successful and impactful film. For instance, we can say"There was a big effort behind the cinematic triumph of Titanic." No.2, "Visually Resplendent" is used in describing the film's stunning visual elements. No.3, "Narrative Panache" Highlighting the film's storytelling style and flair. An example sentence is "This film, with its visually resplendent scenes and narrative panache, unfolded before my eyes like a work of art come to life."

No.4, this one also will be pretty useful I guess which is "Ingenious Cinematography" is used when complimenting the creative and inventive camerawork. No5 will be similar to No4. When you want to praise the film's exceptional sound design and music, you would say "Sonic Masterpiece". As an example, you say "The movie's ingenious cinematography seamlessly merged with its sonic masterpiece, elevating the entire viewing experience to a realm of sensory delight."

No worries. Take a deep breath. All vocab I mentioned are novel to me. Try to use these little by little.

Now looking back to the question, answer the question "What is a movie that has had a profound impact on you?" with this new vocab.

I would say, "Ping-Pong" would be the best movie ever that has had a huge impact on my life and perspective. 

Ping Pong (ピンポン, Pin Pon) is a 2002 Japanese sports film based on the manga series of the same name and the story is mainly about the friendship between two high school table tennis players. The film concentrates on these two friends, their two mentors, and three players whom they encounter at high school table tennis tournaments. It explores the different motivations and philosophies that they have towards table tennis and tries to portray the excitement and subtlety of the sport. This movie is one of the Cinematic Triumph of Japanese action movies, not only does the movie have narrative panache people are obsessed with until the main character becomes a professional ping-pong player, but also it has Ingenious Cinematography which is Visually Resplendent especially in the scene of the ping-pong game. The movie is Sonic Masterpiece as well because all the music used in the movie is splendid and memorable which remains clearly in my mind even after 20 years passed since the first time I watched this movie.

See. Now you will feel much energy towards this movie and well done! I would love to see how it goes on your end. We will see you soon on the next episode!

ケロウナの話人生でどんだけするんだってくらいしてるな

Is there any travel that you won't be able to forget in your life? Where was the best destination you have ever been to? How do you like it and what made it the best?

People love talking about their vacation. This is one of the most remarkable traits of Canadians I have been aware of after moving to Canada. Japanese people also do talk about their vacations but not as much as Canadians. Rather we do only when people "inquire" you. One of the reasons behind this should be, in my opinion, people deem travelling to be a luxury. Bragging about their vacation is vulgar because everyone is expected to be humble as a norm. People post the travel photo on their Instagram quietly but do not talk in person. Just a personal opinion, though.

However, here in Canada, people talk a lot to not only friends but also colleagues. People love spending money and time on travelling. On top of that, it is common for them to take vacation over one month, twice or more a year. Imagine we Japanese tend to struggle to request just 1 week off a year! Hence, we will better get ourselves ready to talk about the travel. Let's say what the most memorable travel looked like.

It was an unforgettable adventure when I travelled to Kelowna a year ago. Although it was a painstaking long journey that took us 5 hours one-way by a rental car, from the moment we landed, we were captivated by the breathtaking view of the vast vineyard. Throughout the trip, we indulged in numerous delicious wines made by several wineries. What's interesting is that each has its characteristics even if it is labeled under wine. On top of that, we were mesmerized by taking a canoe alongside the river where a source of plenty of fruits. The whole experience was stunning and I still reminisce about it to this day.

As you might be aware I tried to use several unique vocabulary, let's look back the the novel ones, especially useful when talking about the memory of sightseeing or travel.

No.1 would be the adjective "breathtaking" which is something you should remember to express beautiful scenery. No2, use the verb "indulge" which is similar to fulfil when there is something you end up concentrating on because of so much joy. What's more, it is good to remember the verb "captivate" as well as "mesmerize" to express how beautiful or exciting the experience was. 

That is the end of today's episode. It is your turn to describe the best travel that you can't forget in your life.

本当はブルーハーツとカネコアヤノの話したい