Revenge & English skill improvement

This evening, I and my wife started to watch TV series "Revenge" because she wanted to watch it since a few months ago. A few months ago when I check its availability in Netflix, it was not available but in Hulu. However, when I browsed what is newly available in Nexflix today, I found it in a category of new release.

This is a story about one woman who tries to do revenges to peoples who destroyed her life when she was small. In each series, she destroys someone`s life by humiliating the person behind who she wants to do revenges to. 

Before I watched the first story, I had confidence to watch it without English subtitle because I spend much time so far in Netflix and Youtube to be able to watch English TV program and documentary in English and I have been feeling that I can do that gradually these days. However the truth is that it was still delusion for me because I could not understand what peoples say in the stories so much. Probably I could understand 50% of it, of course, pictures helped me a lot to understand it. English used there sound like that all words are connected together. It is most difficult situation for me until I get used to it. For example, now I do not have any difficulties to watch documentaries because I think that each word is clearly spoken no matter how fast people speaks.

I am realizing that I still need practice for listening. My goal is to be able to watch movies and dramas completely without any subtitles, but it seems to be long way for me actually.

Alcohol influence on health

During two weeks, I had big mistakes of drinking alcohol too much. As results of that, I was suffering from heavy hangover in following days. I spent almost each whole day to cure it until evening. I love beer very much so I used to make mistakes of same thing when I was Japan but since I came to U.S, I have not done that mistake. However, I did it during last two weeks because I had felt stress about many things these days, and when I talked with Japanese colleagues in a backyard of one of them, I drank too much. This might be because I wanted to tell my cause of stress to someone and wanted to release stress by talking. Fortunately or unfortunately, alcohol usually drives people speak more, which is proportional to the amount of alcohol. On the other hand, chance of suffering from hangover is proportional to that as well as what kind of alcohol it is . I usually avoid wine because percentage of alcohol is strong, and I usually drink beer. However, I avoided wine at first at the time even though I was asked, but I drank a little bit of sparking wine when we cheered something because I thought it was manner at least. As many people can know, we feel full when we usually drink beer much. I felt same thing at that time, and started to drink wine unfortunately. At that time, I`m sure I was drunk and I did not consider what was going to happen in the following day. Naturally, I regretted that behavior.

I really repent for what I did and spent a few days while thinking about that. Hangover was really heavy I have ever suffered from these days, and I felt my body was something wrong. Because of that, it naturally　reminds me of my age and alcohol influence on health. I`m close to 30 years old, I have to accept honestly that I`m not young enough to handle as same amount of alcohol as I used to handle when I was younger. Additionally, I have to consider health issue. Drinking too much alcohol chronically causes serious illness on our body. I have know this fact and kept it in my head, but I had not considered it seriously so far because I was behaving like younger and I was feeling that I was still as young as I was at 5 years ago. Now I am realizing that I have to think about it seriously to be able to live healthy in the future and have to consider how to drink alcohol and how to live with it.

Here are what I come to know from internet about pros and cons about alcohol. 

-- Pros -- Positive effects --

Drinking 1 standard beer 3 or 4 times per week is generally positive effect on heath according to research. It of course depends on constitution of body. This looks like true because I saw this fact many times when I browse in internet.

Beer generally contains many nutrients including vitamin B and antioxidants. Thanks to these, we can expect many benefits of reducing chance to suffer from diseases shown below.

•  Heart diseases and Heat attack
•  Strokes
•  Gallstones
•  Kidney stones
•  Osteoporosis

-- Cons -- Negative effects --

Negative effects always comes from chronic excessive alcohol drinking. It`s obvious about this. According to a link below at the bottom of the page, drinking more than 4 standard size beer causes inflammation in liver, but it`s criteria for american peoples who generally have more material to decompose alcohol in body than Japanese people have. Drinking too much, often, cause diseases which drinking a little seems to prevent. 

Here are lists about negative effects

•  Diseases listed as positive effects
•  Diabetes
•  Fatty liver
•  Alcoholic hepatitis
•  Cirrhosis 
•  Damage brain (let you incapable of thinking properly, and slow response)

Early damages can be curable by stay away from alcohol. However, peoples usually do not recognize it until it`s too late to recover. Therefore, it is very important to drink alcohol properly by considering negative effects seriously and to take medical check regularly, especially blood test. 

Link
http://nifwlseirff.hubpages.com/hub/health-effects-of-beer

Super size me by Morgan Spurlock : thought provoking documentary

It`s about Morgan Spurlock again. 
I wrote about 30 days which was filed by him before, but since that time, I wanted to watch "Super size me" because this seems to be a representative work which he did. This film was nominated for Academy Award of best documentary in 2004, although it failed to win unfortunately. Therefore he became famous with this film. When I asked my colleagues if they know him, those who live in U.S for long time know this film even though they don`t know his name. What I want to say is that it is really impressive for many people and it impose and unveil controversial fact in U.S. 

It`s about chronic obesity which can results in many diseases and death finally. It is a national problem in U.S. I believe that almost all people have considered it once and keep it in mind slightly, but many people does not consider it seriously until they suffer from diseases because of that. It is usually too late when they realize it actually. There are many factors surrounding us which are causes of obesity, but if I ask people what main cause is, then I believe that many people would say that it is fast food. Fast food is easy to cook, cheap, and much quantity. It is very attractive for those who do not have time to cook, and those who do not have money. In Japan, obesity is not a problem yet and I think it never becomes a problem, but if you look at fast food restaurants during lunch time in office area, you can see a long line, especially McDonald. 

This is a little bit long but it is worth watching.

[From here, it includes contents of the documentary, so if you do not want to know the contents, it`s better to stop to read this here.]

Morgan Spurlock was one of peoples who think about it seriously at the time when he started to make the film. He did not suffer from obesity at the time, but he thought how fast food affect on his body if he continues to eat only McDonald menus for one month. Amazingly he did it by himself by sacrificing himself. Before he started this experiment, he took medical checks about his body functionality. Results were all fine at the time. When he took the medical check, he asked experts how the experiment impacts on his body, many experts could say it will affect badly, but they could not say how and which parts of body it will affect specifically. Of course they did not recommend him to do that. What he was supposed to eat were only McDonald menus from morning to night, whole day. At that time, there was "Super size" available as a biggest size. As you can easily imagine, the name of the documentary would be named after this. I`m sure I would give up soon because I do not feel good when I eat them much. Actually after first a few days, he threw up during eating them at night. During this experiment, he took medical check regularly, and results were obviously getting worse in terms of body functions of internal organs. Many peoples advised his to stop it because that`s enough, but he decided to continue to promise 30 days experiment which he decided. In the end of the day, body check results were worse, but in addition to that, he suffered from less focus and depression mentally. It took him many months to get back to normal with proper and careful foods and exercise.

This documentary must be sensational film at that time to wake up people clearly about impact of fast food on body. He showed it quantitatively. Many people still remember it event thought it was broad cast in 2004. It`s better to rerun it every a few years especially for children. 

This was a side story, but after this broadcasting, McDonald seemed to stop Super size, although they said it had nothing to do with the film. Morgan said that amazingly salad available in McDonald contains even more calories than any burgers at that time if attached dressing is used fully.

One day trip to Los Angeles from San Jose

I like to drive a car, and I do not feel sick of it if I continue to do it for long hours as long as it is new route for me. This is because that I can feel new when I go new place. When I was in Japan, I used to drive my car for more than 10 hours per one day at weekend.

As far as I know, almost all my colleagues have been to LA by car once, but I had not, so I decide to go by car to try to see what it is like. Usually peoples seem to take HWY 5 for both directions, but my trip should not be normal way but special. So I decide to take HWY 5 on my way to LA but take HWY 101&1 on my way home to enjoy California sea coast.

One day before the day, I asked one of my colleagues about places where I should go to enjoy for one day trip. He used to live in LA when he was a student for master degree. He suggested me to visit the Rodeo drive in the Beverly hills to see how rich peoples are there. He promised that it is the richest place in the California, but I thought that it was a little bit exaggerated at that time.

                  
                        View Larger Ma

At the morning, I woke up at 4:30am and left home at before 6 am. From San  Jose to LA, I took HWY101, 152 and 5 in this order. What I noticed is that there are many rest place at every a few tens mile unlike HWY 101. For long drive, I always concern restroom, but I do not have to worry about it. aFinally I arrived at the Griffith observatory which is famous place to be able to see Hollywood sign at closest distance. I was lucky to find a parking space, that place was really busy for tourists. What I felt after seeing the sign was that I was feeling I had seen this before. This might be because I have seen this sign many time on TV. Anyway, it is good place not only for viewing the sign but also for looking at the entire LA view.

After that, I started to head for the Beverly hills which is main visit for my trip. As I approached there, I came to see expensive cars frequently, what is called, super cars like Ferrari and Lamborghini. When I arrived there, what I felt in my mind at first was how gorgeous this place I have ever seen. I had never seen such many super cars except car shows. Everything is gorgeous here. Cars are special, and house are larger and gorgeous, and shops are special. I saw Rolls Royce phantom coupe first time. It sounds strange but it looks like one of normal cars there. However when I moved a few miles away from the place, situation was really opposite, rich places and poor places live together here. Where is middle class place ? This is U.S. Social difference is getting wider and wider. Rich peoples get richer, and poor peoples get poorer.

After leaving this place, I headed for sea coast on my way home. It was around 2pm, and I felt it was mistake because road was really busy. Only good thing was beautiful sea view. That`s it.

Between LA and San Luis Obispo, it was good drive except the traffic, but after that, it was really boring drive even for me. And finally I arrived my home at 11pm.

I felt tired for one day trip, but simultaneously I felt achievement to do it while drinking beer.