Categories
Recent Posts: M Thomas Apple Author Page
“Don’t worry,” they said, “the size of a truck,” they said…
An asteroid is on its way to Earth, but don’t worry – the end is here Not here. The asteroid, named 2023 BU, is about the size of a van and is expected to miss our planet during Thursday’s flyby. However, according to a NASA scientist, it will be “one of the closest approaches of a known […]
Confirmed: We’re all here thanks to asteroids
Since the Hayabusa2 returned with the sample from the Ryugu asteroid in December 2020, several important discoveries have been made – most notably analyzes confirming the presence of substances thought to be the building blocks of life on the asteroid, such as liquid water and organics fabrics. https://newsbeezer.com/germanyeng/ryugu-asteroid-helps-unravel-the-origin-of-life-on-earth/ Hayabusa-2 took several years to land on […]
Turn off the lights, and you’ll be seeing stars!
A new study that analyzes data from more than 50,000 amateur stargazers finds that artificial lighting is making the night sky about 10% brighter each year. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/twinkle-twinkle-fading-stars-hiding-brighter-skies-rcna66692 Each spring in my Current Events and Global Issues class, I have students read about environmental issues. Pollution is obviously related. But they almost never guess the “seven […]
Top Posts & Pages
copyright disclaimer
© Matthew Apple and Taking Leave, 2009-2020. Duplication of this material without express and written permission is strictly prohibited. If you would like to post or copy brief excerpts from the blog, please provide a link to the original URL along with an author’s credit.
Tag Archives: half-Japanese
The Ugly Duckling in Japan
Tomorrow is “Coming of Age Day” in Japan, when 20 year olds celebrate officially becoming “adults” in Japanese society. Today, my family went to a performance by a local civic group of The Ugly Duckling, billed as “a moving story … Continue reading
Posted in entertainment, family outings, Japan, Japanese, Japanese culture, kids shows, parenting
Tagged child-raising, cultural differences, folk tales, half-Japanese, Japan, Japanese, racism
2 Comments
Year Two: Nursery School
Starting April 1st this year (the beginning of the school year in Japan), I went back to work and my daughter started her first year at a nearby private nursery school. Even prior to the official first day, we attended … Continue reading
Posted in day care, Japan, parenting, Uncategorized
Tagged child care, child education, child-raising, day care, education, fatherhood, half-Japanese, Japan, Japanese, kindergarten, nursery school
1 Comment
Don’t panic: Japan is not sinking
My last post, about something now that seems totally innocuous, was on Friday, March 11th, at 10 or 11 in the morning. Japan time. We all know what happened just a few hours later.
Posted in Japan, media, natural disasters, parenting, Paternity leave, Uncategorized
Tagged child-raising, earthquake, family leave, Fukushima, half-Japanese, hysteria, Japan, Japanese, media coverage, Miyagi, Paternity leave, radiation, Sendai
9 Comments