2009-12-07

2000-2009の名前/Top 20ランキング~英語圏編~

1. Hereos (2001)
Emergency responders who rushed into the Towers

2. Bin Laden (2001)
His Capture still top of mind for US Military

3. Ground Zero (2001)
NY Times still will not capitalize the site as a formal name

4. Dubya (2000)
George W. Bush, US President No. 43

5. The Clintons (Hillary & Bill) (2000)
Looming on political landscape, though not as large

6. John Paul II (2000)
Largest funeral in TV history attested to power

7. Obama (2008)
Making an impact as the decade ends

8. Taliban (2000)
Still the source of Afghan insurgency

9. Katrina (2004)
Hurricane whose destruction of New Orleans is seared into minds around globe

10. Tiger Woods (2000)
Top golfer earned about $1 Billion this decade

11. iPhone (2007)
First product on this list

12. Paul Hewson (Bono) (2000)
U2 Front man, NY Times Columnist, catalyst for African relief

13. Michael Jackson (2000)
The King of Pop

14. Al Gore (2000)
Nobel Prize winner, US Vice President, Climate Change purveyor

15. Saddham Hussein (2000)
Iraqi dictator captured while hiding in a ‘spider hole’

16. Enron (2001)
Seems like another era since this giant fell

17. Bollywood (2000)
Mumbai’s answer to Hollywood

18. Facebook (2007)
Another ubiquitous software product

19. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005)
Iranian president since 2005

20. Vladimir Putin (2000)
Russian leader since 2000


---Memo---

Source: The Global Language Monitor

2000-2009のフレーズ/Top 20ランキング~英語圏編~

1. Climate Change (2000)
Green words in every form dominant the decade

2. Financial Tsunami (2008)
One quarter of the world’s wealth vanishes seemingly overnight

3. Ground Zero (2001)
Site of 9/11terrorist attack in New York City

4. War on Terror (2001)
Bush administration’s response to 9/11

5. Weapons of Mass Destruction (2003)
Bush’s WMDs never found in Iraq or the Syrian desert

6. Swine Flu (2008)
H1N1, please, so as not to offend the pork industry or religious sensitivities!

7. “Let’s Roll!” (2001)
Todd Beamer’s last words before Flight 93 crashed into the PA countryside

8. Red State/Blue State (2004)
Republican or Democratic control of states

9. Carbon footprint (2007)
How much CO² does an activity produce?

10. Shock-and-awe (2003)
Initial strategy of Iraq War

11. Ponzi Scheme (2009)
Madoff’s strategy reaped billions & heartache

12. Category Four (2005)
Force of Hurricane Katrina hitting New Orleans’ seawalls and levies

13. King of Pop (2000)
Elvis was the King, MJ the King (of Pop)

14. “Stay the Course” (2004)
Dubya’s off-stated guidance for Iraq War

15. “Yes, we can!” (2008)
Obama’s winning campaign slogan

16. “Jai Ho!” (2008)
Shout of joy from ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

17. “Out of the Mainstream” (2003)
Complaint about any opposition’s political platform

18. Cloud computing (2007)
Using the Internet as a large computational device

19. Threat Fatigue (2004)
One too many terrorist threat alerts

20. Same-sex marriage (2003)
Marriage of gay couples


---Memo---

Source: The Global Language Monitor

2000-2009のワード/Top 25ランキング~英語圏編~

1. Global Warming (2000)
Rated highly from Day One of the decade

2. 9/11 (2001)
Another inauspicious start to the decade

3. Obama (2008 )
The US President’s name as a ‘root’ word or ‘word stem’

4. Bailout (2008) The Bank Bailout was but Act One of the crisis

5. Evacuee/refugee (2005)
After Katrina, refugees became evacuees

6. Derivative (2007)
Financial instrument or analytical tool that engendered the Meltdown

7. Google (2007)
Founders misspelled actual word ‘googol’

8. Surge (2007)
The strategy that effectively ended the Iraq War

9. Chinglish (2005)
The Chinese-English Hybrid language growing larger as Chinese influence expands

10. Tsunami (2004)
Southeast Asian Tsunami took 250,000 lives

11. H1N1 (2009)
More commonly known as Swine Flu

12. Subprime (2007)
Subprime mortgages were another bubble to burst

13. dot.com (2000) The Dot.com bubble engendered no lifelines, no bailouts

14. Y2K ( 2000)
The Year 2000: all computers would turn to pumpkins at the strike of midnight

15. Misunderestimate (2002)
One of the first and most enduring of Bushisms

16. Chad ( 2000)
Those Florida voter punch card fragments that the presidency would turn aupon

17. Twitter (2008 )
A quarter of a billion references on Google

18. WMD (2002)
Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction

19. Blog (2003)
First called ‘web logs’ which contracted into blogs

20. Texting (2004)
Sending 140 character text messages over cell phones

21. Slumdog (2008)
Child inhabitants of Mumba’s slums

22. Sustainable (2006)
The key to ‘Green’ living where natural resources are never depleted

23. Brokeback (2004)
New term for ‘gay’ from he Hollywood film ‘Brokeback Mountain’

24. Quagmire (2004)
Would Iraq War end up like Vietnam, another ‘quagmire’?

25. Truthiness (2006)
Steven Colbert’s addition to the language appears to be a keeper


---Memo---

Source: The Global Language Monitor

今年の名前(2009)/Top 10ランキング~英語圏編~

1. Barack Obama
It was Obama’s year, though MJ nearly eclipsed in the end

2. Michael Jackson
Eclipses Obama on internet though lags in traditional media

3. Mobama
Mrs. Obama, sometimes as a fashion Icon

4. Large Hadron Collider
The Trillion dollar ‘aton smasher’ buried outside Geneva

5. Neda Agha Sultan
Iranian woman killed in the post-election demonstrations

6. Nancy Pelosi
The Democratic Speaker of the US House

7. M. Ahmadinejad
The president of Iran, once again

8. Hamid Karzai
The winner of Afghanistan’s disputed election

9. Rahm Emmanuel
Bringing ‘Chicago-style politics’ to the Administration

10. Sonia Sotomayor
The first Hispanic woman on the US Supreme Court


---Memo---

Source: The Global Language Monitor

今年のフレーズ(2009)/Top 10ランキング~英語圏編~

1. King of Pop
Elvis was ‘The King;’ MJ had to settle for ‘King of Pop’

2. Obama-mania
One of the scores of words from the Obama-word stem

3. Climate Change
Considered politically neutral compared to global warming

4. Swine Flu
Popular name for the illness caused by the H1N1 virus

5. Too Large to Fail
Institutions that are deemed necessary for financial stability

6. Cloud Computing
Using the Internet for a variety of computer services

7. Public Option
The ability to buy health insurance from a government entity

8. Jai Ho!
A Hindi shout of joy or accomplishment

9. Mayan Calendar
Consists of various ‘cycles,’ one of which ends on 12/21/2012

10. God Particle
The hadron, believed to hold the secrets of the Big Bang


---Memo---

Source: The Global Language Monitor

今年のワード(2009)/Top 15ランキング~英語圏編~

1. Twitter
The ability to encapsulate human thought in 140 characters

2. Obama
The word stem transforms into scores of new words like ObamaCare

3. H1N1
The formal (and politically correct) name for Swine Flu

4. Stimulus
The $800 billion aid package meant to help mend the US economy

5. Vampire
Vampires are very much en vogue, now the symbol of unrequited love

6. 2.0
The 2.0 suffix is attached to the next generation of everything

7. Deficit
Lessons from history are dire warnings here

8. Hadron
Ephemeral particles subject to collision in the Large Hadron Collider

9. Healthcare
The direction of which is the subject of intense debate in the US

10. Transparency
Elusive goal for which many 21st c. governments are striving

11. Outrage
In response to large bonuses handed out to ‘bailed-out’ companies

12. Bonus
The incentive pay packages that came to symbolize greed and excess

13. Unemployed
And underemployed amount to close to 20% of US workforce

14. Foreclosure
Forced eviction for not keeping up with the mortgage payments

15. Cartel
In Mexico, at the center of the battle over drug trafficking


---Memo---

Source: The Global Language Monitor

2009-12-06

痩せすぎセレブ/何かあったのか 9人~ハリウッド編~



Ashlee Simpson-Wentz
Then↓

Now↓
Tori Spelling
Then↓

Now↓
Jennifer Garner

Then↓

Now↓

Jennifer Lopez
Then↓
Now↓

Stephanie Pratt
Then↓

Now↓

Marcia Cross
Then↓
Now↓

Nicole Richie
Then↓
Now↓

Rachel Zoe
Then↓
Now↓

Kristin Cavallari
then↓
Now↓

ホテル稼働率/宿泊料変動率(the week ending Nov. 28.2009)~ハワイ編~



ハワイ全体
稼働率---66.2% (+7.7%)
宿泊料---$174 (-10.5%)

オアフ
稼働率---79% (+16.8%)
宿泊料---$153 (79%)

マウイ
稼働率---59.4% (-0.3%)
宿泊料---$228 (-15.9%
)

カウアイ
稼働率---47.9% (-7.7%)
宿泊料---$190 (-4.2%)

ビッグ・アイランド(ハワイ島)
稼働率---45.2% (-0.3%)
宿泊料---$167 (-1.5%)


全米
稼働率---40.7% (±0%)
宿泊料---$84 (-6.7%)


---Memo---

()内: 前年同時期比較

Source: Hospitality Advisors & Smith Travel Research

エドガー・アラン・ポー初版本のお値段



Tamerlane and Other Poems(タマレーン & その他の詩)

$662,500 = 59,949,624 ($1=90.49 yen)


---Memo---

前回オークション落札価格(20年前): $250,000 (=22,622,500 yen)

2009-12-05

Top 10ガジェット(2000-2009)



The iPod

GPS Devices

The BlackBerry

Digital cameras

TiVo Digital Video Recorder

Nintendo's Wii

The USB Flash Drive

The iPhone

E-Book Readers

Netbooks

世界最高値のついたピンク・ダイアモンドのお値段

Vivid Pink: 5 carat

$10.8 million = 952,451,968 yen (US$1=88.19 yen)

2009-12-04

2010年に行ってみたいスポット(都市)/Best 13~世界編~



Paris, Franceo
photo: Groups of people passing by the lit cafes, bars and clubs lining the narrow, cobbled streets of the district of Montmartre in northern Paris.

Tunisia
photo: The Roman colosseum at El Jem
Copenhagen, Denmark
photo: Royal Library

Hanoi, Vietnam
photo: Woman relaxing on the banks of Hoan Kiem Lake

Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
photo: Residential building

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
photo: Interior of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque

Hawaii (the Big Island), United States
photo: Hiking on the Big Island

Salta Province, Argentina
photo: Road outside of Salta City

Isles of Scilly, England
photo: Hotel on St. Mary's

Mexico City, Mexico
photo: The historical building of the main post office with its golden interior in downtown

Melbourne, Australia
photo: Great Ocean Road, Melbourne

Florida Panhandle Beaches, United States
photo: Crystal clear blue waters on a beach near Destin

Kerala, India
photo: Boat rides on Christmas day from Kovalam Beach

ガソリンのお値段(12.02.2009)~アメリカ編~


US [単位: 1gallon = 3.78ℓ]
Average Price---$2.62
Lowest Price---$2.04 [Shawnee Mission, KS]
Highest Price---$3.73 [Kihei, HI]

-----

Alabama
Average Price---$2.53
Lowest Price---$2.39
Highest Price---$2.92

Alaska
Average Price---$3.31
Lowest Price---$3.15
Highest Price---$3.45

Arizona
Average Price---$2.55
Lowest Price---$2.32
Highest Price---$2.99

Arkansas
Average Price---$2.47
Lowest Price---$2.37
Highest Price---$2.59

California
Average Price---$2.89
Lowest Price---$2.49
Highest Price---$3.40

Colorado
Average Price---$2.51
Lowest Price---$2.26
Highest Price---$2.89

Connecticut
Average Price---$2.79
Lowest Price---$2.58
Highest Price---$3.18

Delaware
Average Price---$2.57
Lowest Price---$2.40
Highest Price---$2.82

Florida
Average Price---$2.68
Lowest Price---$2.44
Highest Price---$3.12

Georgia
Average Price---$2.48
Lowest Price---$2.25
Highest Price---$2.79

Hawaii
Average Price---$3.38
Lowest Price---$3.31
Highest Price---$3.73

Idaho
Average Price---$2.67
Lowest Price---$2.40
Highest Price---$2.87

Illinois
Average Price---$2.68
Lowest Price---$2.43
Highest Price---$3.19

Indiana
Average Price---$2.55
Lowest Price---$2.37
Highest Price---$2.81

Iowa
Average Price---$2.56
Lowest Price---$2.39
Highest Price---$2.27

Kansas
Average Price---$2.50
Lowest Price---$2.04
Highest Price---$2.71

Kentucky
Average Price---$2.54
Lowest Price---$2.39
Highest Price---$2.97

Louisiana
Average Price---$2.49
Lowest Price---$2.37
Highest Price---$2.73

Maine
Average Price---$2.69
Lowest Price---$2.49
Highest Price---$2.74

Maryland
Average Price---$2.60
Lowest Price---$2.34
Highest Price---$2.97

Massachusetts
Average Price---$2.65
Lowest Price---
Highest Price---$2.45

Michigan
Average Price---$2.55
Lowest Price---$2.33
Highest Price---$2.92

Minnesota
Average Price---$2.50
Lowest Price---$2.41
Highest Price---$2.64

Mississippi
Average Price---$2.49
Lowest Price---$2.32
Highest Price---$2.73

Missouri
Average Price---$2.42
Lowest Price---$2.32
Highest Price---$2.59

Montana
Average Price---$2.52
Lowest Price---$2.42
Highest Price---$2.64

Nebraska
Average Price---$2.70
Lowest Price---$2.51
Highest Price---$3.03

Nevada
Average Price---$2.68
Lowest Price---$2.55
Highest Price---$2.79

New Hampshire
Average Price---$2.59
Lowest Price---$2.49
Highest Price---$2.78

New Jersey
Average Price---$2.49
Lowest Price---$2.33
Highest Price---$2.75

New Mexico
Average Price---$2.65
Lowest Price---$2.45
Highest Price---$2.89

New York
Average Price---$2.86
Lowest Price---$2.62
Highest Price---$3.39

North Carolina
Average Price---$2.58
Lowest Price---$2.39
Highest Price---$2.82

North Dakota
Average Price---$2.65
Lowest Price---$2.46
Highest Price---$2.79

Ohio
Average Price---$2.57
Lowest Price---$2.36
Highest Price---$2.91

Oklahoma
Average Price---$2.44
Lowest Price---$2.27
Highest Price---$2.71

Oregon
Average Price---$2.73
Lowest Price---$2.41
Highest Price---

Pennsylvania
Average Price---$2.68
Lowest Price---$2.38
Highest Price---$2.99

Rhode Island
Average Price---$2.70
Lowest Price---$2.58
Highest Price---$2.83

South Carolina
Average Price---$2.46
Lowest Price---$2.29
Highest Price---$2.72

South Dakota
Average Price---$2.58
Lowest Price---$2.48
Highest Price---$2.75

Tennessee
Average Price---$2.52
Lowest Price---$2.35
Highest Price---$2.83

Texas
Average Price---$2.48
Lowest Price---$2.30
Highest Price---$2.82

Utah
Average Price---$2.58
Lowest Price---$2.42
Highest Price---$2.89

Vermont
Average Price---$2.68
Lowest Price---$2.59
Highest Price---$2.75

Virginia
Average Price---$2.51
Lowest Price---$2.33
Highest Price---$2.89

Washington
Average Price---$2.85
Lowest Price---$2.55
Highest Price---$3.19

Washington, D.C.
Average Price---
Lowest Price---
Highest Price---

West Virginia
Average Price---$2.66
Lowest Price---$2.45
Highest Price---$2.81

Wisconsin
Average Price---$2.59
Lowest Price---$2.41
Highest Price---$2.82

Wyoming
Average Price---$2.37
Lowest Price---$2.25
Highest Price---$2.57