No.150 November 2009

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Contents
News Roundup .......................................P1-7
Own Agent in South Africa Established
KTL/BME/KCST Win Prize for Workplace
Safety, Health and Hygiene Thailand’s National
Competition
Tangguh Foja —Saving Eight Crew Members—
4th KLSM Crew Seminar Held
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Naming and Handover Ceremonies for Bosporus
Highway and Brasilia Highway
Mano Maritime Awards an Honorary Certificate
to “K” Line Personnel in Israel
ITS Receives the Air Quality Improvement
Leadership at Corporate Level Award
New Warehouse KADC-ANNEX Opens at
K Line (Thailand) Ltd.
No.150 Nov. 2009
This Month’s Most Amazing Photos! ..........P8
Professor Eco’s “Environment News” ... P9-10
Special Feature .................................. P11-14
My Favorite Movies & Books
Photo Gallery .......................................... P16
Held by Aurora
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Self-Operation of Agent in South Africa
Global Marketing Team, Containerships Business Group
“K” Line Shipping (South Africa) Pty Ltd, which began operating on July 1, was established
as a joint venture with the Bidvest Group Limited.
The Bidvest Group Limited is a distinguished corporate group with 140 group companies, ranking among the top five in South Africa in terms of sales. The year 2010 is the
year of the Soccer World Cup and the 100th anniversary of exchanges
between Japan and South Africa, since the first Honorary Consul to
South Africa was appointed in 1910. Japan is South Africa’s largest
export partner and fourth-largest import partner. With a focus on the
approaching milestone year, our company is collaborating with the
best partner to make steady advances in South Africa as well.
Signing ceremony for the Joint Venture Agreement
Training seminar for employees
KTL/BME/KCST Win Prize for Four Consecutive Years in Thailand’s
National Competition on Workplace Safety, Health and Hygiene
K Line (Thailand) Ltd.
Four of our workplaces, namely the head office of K Line (Thailand) Ltd., Bangpakong Depot and
Bangna Depot of Bangkok Marine Enterprise Ltd., and No. 1 Depot of K Line Container Service
(Thailand) Ltd., won prizes in a competition held annually in Thailand, which recognizes outstanding companies at a national level in terms of workplace safety, health and hygiene.
This is the first time that four KTL Group companies have been recognized at the same
time. And it is the fourth consecutive year that the head office of KTL and Bangpakong Depot
of BME have received prizes.
The award ceremony was held on July 4, with the Ministry of Labor presenting the
Centre is Mr. Yoshida, vice president of KTL and Mr. Chaiyot,
vice president of BME on his right
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prizes. Numerous associated people from KTL, BME and KCST participated.
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Tangguh Foja Does Outstanding Job Saving Lives
— Saving Eight Crew Members —
LNG Group
The DFDE-equipped LNG ship Tangguh Foja, which is under the management of “K” Line Ship Management,
recently saved 8 crew members from Te Hsing, an iron ore carrier. Te Hsing had become unable to navigate
due to a fire that had broken out while on the Celebes Sea off the coast of Indonesia.
The ship performed exceedingly well in saving eight precious lives.
4:30 p.m., July 19
5:10 p.m.
While our ship was sailing in the roving
Our ship was positioned along the broadside of the lifeboat,
ocean area in the Celebes Sea off the
and our crew began to carry out the rescue. The lifeboat
coast of Indonesia waiting for Voyage
was substantially damaged by fire, but the crew members
Instructions, the navigation officer on
were safe. One Chinese, six Indonesian and one Myanmar
watch found a lifeboat transmitting an
crew member, or eight in total, were saved.
SOS signal. The relevant organizations
were consulted and it was confirmed
that our ship would go to the rescue, so
Although one of the rescued crew members had a minor burn, it was not
it started sail-
life threatening, and the crew member was given first aid onboard our
ing toward the
ship. The other crew members were not injured, but their food supplies
lifeboat.
had run out and they had not eaten for several days, so meals were provided onboard our ship.
11:30 p.m.
The rescued crew members advised that 16 other crew members, including the captain, had escaped in a lifeboat. Our crew
notified the Indonesian authorities and started searching in the area around the burnt ship at the official request of the
Rescue Center.
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Parallel Sweep Pattern
12:55 a.m., July 20
The responsible Indonesian authority notified Tangguh
Foja that the search would commence at 6:00 a.m. that
day. The method of searching known as the Parallel Sweep
Pattern was utilized, as shown on the diagram to the left.
At the instruction of the ship’s charterer, two vessels under
the management of other companies participating in the
Project that were sailing nearby also participated in the
search. A total of three vessels searched day and night.
This is a search method where the
search area is set around the estimated
base point, and the direction of the
search is aligned with the direction of
the drift of the wrecked ship.
This method enables prompt
searching within the probable range of
existence of the wrecked ship, making it
highly likely that the ship will be found.
1:12 p.m., July 21
The responsible Indonesian authority ordered our ship to stop searching, so our search was halted. The
search was taken over by the Indonesian authority, and our ship resumed its normal course. To our
regret, we were not able to find the 16 missing crew members.
9:35 a.m., July 22
Our ship docked at Bontang Port in Indonesia, and our crew members saw the eight rescued crew members
safely ashore. Some days later, the owner of the MV Te Hsing sent an e-mail expressing their gratitude.
Background of the Fire
According to the rescued crew members, the fire had broken out one week previously, on July 12. The captain and 15 other crew members
had escaped first. The remaining eight crew members had evacuated to the bow. After the fire had been put out, the eight crew members
had waited for rescue while sleeping in the storage area in the bow. The fire had broken out in a crew member’s room and spread quickly
through the sleeping quarters and all the engine rooms. The eight crew members were found by Tangguh Foja one week after the fire.
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Naming and Handover Ceremonies for Bosporus Highway,
a Car Carrier Accommodating 6,200 Vehicles,
and Brasilia Highway
Car Carrier Business Group
The naming and handover ceremonies were conducted on July 7 at Imabari
Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. for the car carrier Bosporus Highway, which accommodates 6,200 cars, and on August 20 for Brasilia Highway. The numerous
participants celebrated completion of the vessels.
These two vessels are both part of a series of five car carriers of the same
model accommodating 6,200 cars, starting with Athens Highway, which was
completed on June 26, 2008. Bosporus Highway and Brasilia Highway are
the fourth and fifth vessels in the series, respectively.
Mano Maritime Awards an Honorary Certificate
to “K” Line Personnel in Israel
Mano Maritime Ltd. As Agents for “K” Line in Israel
Mano Maritime Ltd, the general agents of “K” Line in Israel carried out a celebration
party for its staff. Regularly, as a custom & tradition of the company, a celebration for
its employees is carried out every year. However, the celebration of this year had its
uniqueness due to the special honor and attention that was given to “K” Line’s representative Mr. Dror Vered and to Mr. Nabil Elias, Deputy General Manager of the
Liner division in Mano Maritime.
On the 27th of October, 2009 Mano Maritime invited its office staff and their
families as well as the company’s seamen for its annual staff celebration on one
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of Mano Maritime’s cruise vessels. In addition to those guests, several honorary guests were invited to the event, including: public personnel, senior bank
managers, and key customers. The total number was 750 guests altogether.
The event commenced with an exclusive & impressive dinner, and continued
with extraordinary show performed by the ship’s entertainment team, which
was followed by crew & staff talent show. Nevertheless, the most impressive
and exciting part of the event was the award of an honorary certificate.
Every year, Mano Maritime chooses 3 personnel who had a fundamental influence and milestone on the success of the company. It was decided by the directorate of the company that the chosen personnel to be awarded by an honorary
certificate are: Mr. Dror Vered (“K” Line Representative in Israel) and Mr. Nabil
Elias (Deputy General Manager Liner Division), on their long path and cooperation
in the past 17 years with Mano Maritime. In addition, a certificate was awarded to
Mr. Offer Atias Attorney in law, for his long and outstanding cooperation for more
than 30 years.
Mano Maritime senior staff, including Mr. Moshe Ben-Hamo, the Vice PresidentSales & Logistics Liner Division of the company, blessed the awarded personnel
and wished them prosperity, health, and best wishes.
The President & C.E.O of the company, Mr. Moshe Mano, emphasized during the
awarding the importance and significance of “K” Line agency to Mano Maritime,
which he referred to as ‘The Crown’ of the company. Furthermore, he said that
Mano Maritime is ready and prepared to provide the best means and service for
continuing to develop and strengthen the relationship between Mano Maritime
and “K” Line.
In the same breath, Mr. Mano mentioned that his son, Mr. Moran Mano, had
recently graduated with excellence and received the B.Sc Maritime Business
degree in England. Mr. Moran Mano is planning to be involved in the company’s activities and particularly in the “K” Line agency activities.
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4th KLSM Crew Seminar Held
Crewing Group, “K” Line Ship Management Co., Ltd.
For two days on August 4 and 5, the 4th “K” Line Ship Management (KLSM) — Crew
Seminar was held at “K” Line Maritime Academy (KLMA) Philippines/Manila. A total
of 70 participants, of which about 50 were Filipino crew members, contributed to an
active Q&A session, making the seminar very rewarding.
The seminar has been held each year since 2007 with the aim of realizing the
basic policy of the “K” Line Group, or sailing the vessels safely and protecting life,
cargo and environment at sea. The seminar aims to train nautical engineers who
understand the KLSM safety management manuals and possess the knowledge and
skills to put them into action.
Opening speech by President
Kubojima of KLSM
Greetings from Executive Officer
Kadono of “K” Line
This year a lecturer was invited from the Franklin Covey Organization Service,
which is known for the global bestselling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. A seminar aiming to enhance the capabilities and personality
of each individual was also held, enabling the individuals and organization to achieve continuously strong results over a long period of time.
Even though economic conditions remain challenging, the core task of ship management continues to be the development of crew members who
understand the intentions of ship management companies and possess the skills and knowledge necessary for maintaining and enhancing not
only the safety and economic operations but also the quality of the ship. As a result, we will
continue making every effort to secure and develop capable crew members in line with the
KLMA Master Plan.
Q&A session
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Group discussions for crisis
management drill
Presentation of certificate of training
completion and memorial items
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ITS Receives the Air Quality Improvement Leadership
at Corporate Level Award from both Los Angeles
and Long Beach Ports
International Transportation Service, Inc.
International Transportation Service, Inc. (ITS) received the Leadership
at the Corporate Level Award, or the grand-prix award of the Second
Annual CAAP Air Quality Excellence Awards presented by Los Angeles
and Long Beach Ports.
CAAP stands for Clean Air Action Plan and covers the San Pedro Bay
area where both Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports are located. It was
established in 2006, and aims to halve air pollutant emissions in the
area by 2012. CAAP has attracted a great deal of attention from the
From left to right: Ms. Geraldine Knatz, Executive
Director of Port of Los Angeles, President Kawamata,
Mayor Bob Foster of Long Beach City, and Mr. Richard
D. Steinke, Executive Director of Port of Long Beach
residents of southern California, where people are highly aware of environmental conservation issues. The government administration and relevant corporations have implemented diverse measures for achieving
Certificate awarded by
the US Senate
the CAAP objective.
Since its foundation in 1971, ITS has implemented numerous selfinitiated gas emission reduction measures.
The company’s diverse environmental measures were evaluated and
resulted in receipt of this award.
California is one of the states in the USA that has suffered serious air
pollution, and people keep a close watch on the environmental conservation measures of corporations. Our Group is determined to continue
undertaking environmental conservation measures and contribute to
protecting the regional and global environment.
President Kawamata giving a speech
expressing his appreciation
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Certificate awarded by
the California State Senate
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New Warehouse KADC-ANNEX Opens at K Line (Thailand) Ltd.
K Line (Thailand) Ltd.
K Line (Thailand) Ltd. (KTL) opened KADC-ANNEX, the third warehouse in the
“K” Line Amata Nakom Distribution Center (KADC) that the company owns within
the Amata Nakom Industrial Estate in Chonburi Province, Thailand. The opening ceremony was held on July 16. The existing first warehouse (floor area: 7,200 square
meters) and the second warehouse (floor area: 7,472 square meters) are located
within KADC. The ANNEX (floor area: 6,600 square meters) has just opened adjacent
to these warehouses. All the warehouses have raised floors. A water channel exists
between the older warehouses and the ANNEX. Laws prohibit water channels from
being buried, so a bridge was built to connect the second warehouse and the ANNEX.
This enables the flexible handling of cargo in storage, so the three warehouses will
Overall view of KADC; the new ANNEX to the right; the bridge connecting the
existing warehouses with the new one is a selling point.
supplement each other in years to come. The bridge also enables 6-wheeled and
10-wheeled vehicles to use the all-weather unloading area of the existing warehouses in the rainy season when storing cargo in or removing cargo from the ANNEX.
Customer convenience is therefore enhanced when they use the ANNEX. Moreover,
high-performance digital monitoring cameras cover the entire internal area and the
warehouses and external perimeters of the site. The cameras are monitored 24 hours
Souvenir photograph of all the
participants taken after the opening
ceremony that was held on July 16.
a day in addition to having onsite guards, making the facilities extremely secure.
KTL was one of the earliest Japanese logistics companies to become established in Thailand, and this year the company celebrates its 45th anniversary since
inauguration.
The greatest merit our company offers is that users of KTL warehouses can
enjoy one-stop logistics services when their cargo leaves their factory and arrives
at a port as export cargo, or vice versa. Drawing on the knowledge we have cultivated over many years and our experienced sales staff, we will attract even
greater interest in the three warehouses, including the ANNEX.
Inside the leading-edge warehouse; it is almost full.
OCEAN BREEZE No.150
This Month’s Most Amazing Photos!!
We would like to introduce 2 photos from Cooper River Bridge as this month’s most amazing photos! Cooper River Bridge was put into ASA service in
June and visited Cape Town in South Africa in July on her Maiden Voyage. These photos were taken while she was heading to port. A sea lion came to
say Hello to us!! He looked as if he too was celebrating her maiden voyage.
Thank, Captain Kono, for sharing these amazing photos with Ocean Breeze readers!!
A Sea Lion Is Coming
Alongside Our Vessel!
We wish to continue introducing many kinds of amazing photos from all over the world.
!
We welcome your photos!! Please feel free to contact me anytime with your photos!
Did You Know? Facts about Marine Life
What Does “Extinction” Mean?
There are many species of wildlife on Earth, but their numbers are increasingly diminishing. It is said
that approximately 40,000 species are at risk of extinction each year.
The number of living organisms that inhabit the sea is also falling around the world. The most prominent cause is overfishing. With more sophisticated fishing technology available, people tend to catch
more fish than they need. Humans can also choose which species of fish they want to catch. That is why
stocks of fish such as tuna or flatfish that sell for high prices have fallen so dramatically. When a certain
species declines rapidly like this, the marine ecosystem loses its balance.
Humans also take gravel from the ocean bed to use in construction, or dig up the ocean bed to allow
ships to pass more safely. While these actions may be necessary to our lives, it ruins the ocean bed
and some species lose their homes or places where they can lay eggs, or the seawater gets muddy and
makes life difficult for some species. This breaks the food chain and pollutes the ocean.
Waste is another problem. Turtles and whales are known to have died after swallowing rubbish such
as plastic bags that have been thrown into the sea, mistaking it for food. Seals and sea lions have been
killed after getting tangled in old fishing nets and ropes that had been left in the sea. Waste has caused
many life forms to die.
Source: Mini Encyclopedia on Sea and Ships
Issued by: Japan Maritime Public Relations Center
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Professor
Eco
Professor Eco’s
Eco
Eco’ss “Environment
News”
Environment Management Division
Here’s an interview held with the Professor while he was relaxing at the beach.
It’s a beautiful beach, isn’t it?
Professor, could we talk about the beach?
It really is a beautiful beach. The beach is beautiful, indeed, but there are
other things that are also delightful to the eyes. Umm…Oh! I mean, my eyes
Yes, yes, I brought up the subject of the ship because I care about
have been sore recently, and I’ve needed something upon which to feast
conserving beautiful beaches! Looking from here, the ship appears
my eyes. Well, that’s a matter of no great importance! Oh, there’s a ship.
to be part of the seascape. But it is causing environ-
I wonder where it’s going?
mental damage as it sails. Various measures are
therefore being implemented to protect the
beautiful beach and sea for all living beings
and us humans.
A ship filled with ballast water
Are you talking about ballast water measures?
Right, so you know about it already. When a ship is unloaded and empty, it can become unstable and tip over if nothing is done. To prevent this, seawater is pumped into tanks located at the
Stable
bottom and sides of the ship, so that the ship is stable and can sail steadily. The seawater that
is pumped in is called ballast water. Ballast water contains marine life forms, including plankton.
Without ballast water…
When the seawater is discharged into a different sea area from where it was obtained, life forms
that were not originally in that area could settle there, which affects the environment. One
example is that when ballast water that contains plankton is discharged, a lot of fish gather,
which makes fishermen very happy!
Unstable
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I don’t think that is the issue!
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Oh, of course not. I just wanted to say that ballast water has the effect of gathering fish… This is why ballast water is exchanged on
the high sea (broad sea area far from land). Ships are allowed to discharge ballast water inside a port after exchanging the water
on the high sea, because there are only a few plankton and other life forms there. Each ship has ballast water management manuals that stipulate these procedures so as to ensure the safety of the ship and care for the environment.
What are the regulations related to ballast water measures?
The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments has been
adopted, which considers the effects of ballast water on ecological systems, mandating ships to equip themselves with a ballast water treatment device that can remove marine life forms and bacteria when ballast water
Ballast
l W
Water
a
is taken into the ship. Measures for following the Convention will be necessary as soon as it comes into force,
so preparatory work is underway ahead of its implementation. But there are still problems to be dealt with.
Ships need to equip themselves with a device approved by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), but
Pump w
water up after
discharging
in ballast
water from
m the ship
Discharge clean water
only a few devices that have been approved, and development is still underway.
New ships that only need a small ballast tank must be equipped with a treatment device immediately, but development work for the devices has been delayed, and
the application has been postponed. In the near future, all ships will need to be equipped with the devices, so issues regarding production capacity and installation
locations also need to be addressed. Discussions are still underway regarding inspection methods to check whether the devices are working as they should.
So it’s an environmental measure that still needs to be worked on.
Demonstration tests have been conducted using ships equipped with ballast water treatment devices, so the number of
approved devices is likely to increase. To keep the seas beautiful, we also need to conserve ecological systems. Incidentally,
I’m more concerned about ecological systems at the beach.
Oh, well, I didn’t mean…how about giving deeper thought to the sea if you have a chance to spend time by the sea?
It could serve as a good starting point for thinking about gifts from the sea!
The Professor was on vacation, and he didn’t seem to be focusing on my questions. You would never know what types of ecological systems he
was looking at to soothe his eyes. Anyway, let’s hope he thoroughly enjoys his vacation and starts working hard again when he returns.
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M y Fa vo rit e M ov ie s & Bo ok s
My Favorite Movie—Korean film: Jibeuro (English version: The Way Home)
Contributed by Mr. Lim Jeffrey, “K” LINE (KOREA) LTD.
Whenever asked to pick up one favorite thing among many choices, it is always difficult to answer and makes me distressed. But when it comes to choosing ‘a favorite
movie’, I would definitely say the Korean film: Jibeuro (English version: The Way
Home). This is a very simple story without big payoff scenes like Hollywood blockbusters and has little dialogue during the most part of it but that’s the beauty of this film.
Sang-woo is a spoiled city boy from Seoul who happens to live with his mute grandma
in the countryside while his mother tries to find a job. He is truly selfish and annoying and often ignores his grandma. He wants nothing more than to play his electronic Gameboy all day long
and always asks about city stuff which grandma doesn’t really know and has never heard of in her entire
life. When hungry, he wants nothing more than to have Kentucky Fried Chicken. Poor grandma only understands ‘chicken’, so she makes Korean traditional sustaining chicken food called ‘Samgyetang’, boiled with
various healthy ingredients (men’s favorite) to make the boy happy. Nevertheless he doesn’t eat it simply
because it’s not the one he asked for. In addition, he even steals her shoes just for fun, making grandma
walk bare foot and tries to sell her brooch to buy batteries for his Gameboy.
His behavior throughout the film seems so unbearable that one might feel an impulse to jump into the
screen and kick his ass! However, despite all the bratty things he does, grandma always stands centered and shows unconditional love to Sang-woo
which makes him gradually begin to accept the new lifestyle, helping thread a needle, hanging up clothes on the clothesline and eventually understand his grandma in the end.
Sang-woo’s behavior took me back to my childhood when being naughty to my own grandma who was always generous and devoted herself to
our family and this made me cry because I never ended it nicely as Sang-woo did until my grandma passed away.
This film is marvelous and touching, at the same time, reminding us of the human nature which we’ve somehow lost in the modern, industrialized world. I recommend people to rent this beautiful movie and share warm hearts with family.
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M y Fa vo rit e M ov ie s & Bo ok s
Murder on the Orient Express
Contributed by Ms. Claudia Huigens, “K” Line (Nederland) B.V.
Christmas holidays are getting closer and this year (like almost every year) I’ll spend these days
abroad. I love to travel and to see how this time of year is being celebrated in different places, by
different people all over the world. This December my destination will be New York. I look forward
to visiting the Big Apple during Christmas time; ice skating in Central Park, admiring beautiful
decorations in store windows and the giant tree at Rockefeller Center.
But actually, traveling, getting there without having to hurry, for me is part of the fun. Sitting
on a plane for a few hours gives me time to read without being disturbed. Plenty of time to reread one of my all time favorites: Murder on the Orient Express written in 1934 by the Queen of
crime: Agatha Christie.
In this world famous crime fiction, the brilliant (but according to Christie herself also ego-centric) Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is traveling to England aboard the Orient Express. Shortly
after the train’s departure a wealthy American businessman tries to secure Poirot’s services after
having received death threats. Poirot declines, finding the case of little interest, only to find the
man the next morning … stabbed to death in his cabin…
Like most of Agatha Christie’s books, Murder on the Orient Express is a whodunnit in which Poirot stumbles upon a murder and investigates
it, interrogates each suspect, examines the scene of the crime and makes a note of each clue; giving me a fair chance of solving the mystery
myself. It is considered to be one of Christie’s best books.
Based on this murder mystery a film was made in 1974 starring big names such as Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Ingrid
Bergman, Vanessa Redgrave, Anthony Perkins and Jacqueline Bisset. “The greatest cast of suspicious characters ever involved in murder.”
Needless to say that this classic is also one of my favorites.
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M y Fa vo rit e M ov ie s & Bo ok s
My Favorite Book—DIARY OF A NOBODY by George Grossmith
Contributed by Ms. Clare McCarthy, Trade Planning Department Asia Division, “K” Line Europe Ltd. London
This is one of my favourite “novels” although it is basically a fake diary about a very ordinary man in Victorian
London. George Grossmith was actually an actor/comedian who was employed by the D’Oyly Carte Opera company
(famous for producing the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan). I think this was his only work of fiction (published in
1892), it was illustrated by his brother Weedon.
The “nobody” of the title is Mr. Charles Pooter who works as an office clerk in the City and lives in Holloway,
North London with his wife. Pooter has a hilariously misplaced sense of his own importance; he dreams of social
advancement and a secure position in society but he is continually humiliated; his domestic mishaps are even funnier as a result of his total lack of humour. The diary is comprised of his day-to-day life at home and work, his
opinion of his disrespectful junior colleagues, tradesmen (who he considers beneath himself – he is a huge snob),
rude shopkeepers and so on. The reader is not even spared details of his household tasks such as securing nails to
his back door (of course even this job ends in disaster).
From the above it would be easy to assume that Grossmith is sneering at this self-deluded man of no importance,
but his skill is in making Pooter an ultimately loveable character — he may be ridiculous but we are earnestly aware
of his basically generous heart.
Apart from it’s almost anti-humour, this book is fascinating for me as it gives such insight into the history, classstructure (and even geography) of late-Victorian London.
It may also say a lot for (or against) British humour that this was considered “the funniest book in the world” by
Evelyn Waugh.
The picture is by Weedon Grossmith, it depicts what happened when Pooter painted his bathtub with the wrong
type of paint.
If you are interested in reading this story, please visit the following link.
http://www.authorama.com/diary-of-a-nobody-1.html
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M y Fa vo rit e M ov ie s & Bo ok s
In the Labyrinth
Contributed by Mr. Tony Leon, “K” Line America, Inc. Richmond
“In the Labyrinth” by Alain Robbe-Grillet takes the reader through a series of ‘scenes’ with detailed, almost
scientific, and at times geometrical descriptions of two-dimensional space. Moving through these spaces is a
man, presumably a soldier, who just returned from war. He traverses the snowy streets carrying a package,
the contents of which and the intended recipient remain unknown to the reader.
In reading the novel, I experienced the man’s sense of being lost and that same sense of déjà vu that I
experience when I’m driving around in a new area and keep coming on the same streets, intersections, and
landmarks from different angles. When not on the city streets the man stops at a tavern. It is there that
Robbe-Grillet describes in detail the semi-circular imprints made in the dust by the wine glass on the table.
From there he seemingly seamlessly moves into a description of a painting, a bar scene in the tavern that
seems eerily familiar to the same tavern that it is in. Just as I start to get comfortable with the picture as the
scene as the object of description, I realized that I’m once
again reading about the man on the snowy streets trying to
deliver his package. Only this time I arrive from an oblique
angle, a different point-of-view.
The entirety of “In the Labyrinth” flows along this descriptive thread, into and out of the different surfaces. The
author’s manner of heavy description, minimal or no depth
of character, and minimal to no plot, puts the reader in the
place of the character, in the story itself.
What I discovered in the process of reading the book that
the labyrinth is the novel itself and that I am in it.
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Held by Aurora
Contributed by Ms. Keiko Yamane, “K” Line America, Inc.
Everyone has many dreams and so do I. One of mine is to see the aurora and
that dream came true!
There is the tour from Japan of the aurora photo shooting every September
and February to Yellowknife, Northwest Territory, Canada.
My friend from Kamakura, Japan joined this tour from Tokyo and I joined them
in Yellowknife on September 9.
The aurora is a phenomenon happening far above the Earth. The lights are
born out of solar winds flowing across the upper atmosphere and hitting gas
Great Slave Lake 3rd night, Aurora like Goddess
molecules, which light up like a neon sign. Yellowknife is one of the best places on
the planet to view the lights, which appear about 240 nights per year.
This tour provides a professional cameraman who is the aurora specialist in
Canada to travel with us and assist with Photographing of the aurora. Even though
some of us, including myself, were first time users of single lens cameras with a
tri-pod, we could take beautiful photos with his instruction.
First night was cloudy and we could not see the lights but we could practice
taking pictures at the facility of the aurora village.
The second night it appeared for about one hour. Third and fourth nights,
wow, the aurora broke out!
It was beautiful and spectacular. The aurora was moving like the legendary
living thing. I heard the aurora has been seen even in China and Japan
thousands of years ago, so I imagine the people who saw the aurora created
the fantastic story of the dragon.
It is said that seeing the aurora changes your life. Do you believe it? Yes
I do.
Near Great Slave Lake 4th night, Aurora like witch
Cameron Fall with my friend (Ms. Hiromi Kashii)
The writer is on the right.
OCEAN BREEZE No.150