Strange News! Ninjas, Books in Microwaves & Parrot Prisons

I have compiled three strange stories from around the world for us to read through, gain a good understanding of what happened, and as always, find new, useful vocabulary along the way. So let's get to it. You are listening to the forty-first episode of season two of English with Dane. Hit it. Master student combines historical research with farming and martial arts. A degree is a titulo, by the way. Let's keep reading. A Japanese university has awarded the first ever degree in ninja studies.

Master student Genichi Mitsuhashi, who is 45 years old, spent two years examining historical documents on the nature of the stealth fighters while perfecting his martial arts skills. He also bought a wooden two-story house in Iga Province, the birthplace of the ninja, and cultivated rice and vegetables on the land. I read that ninjas worked as farmers in the morning and trained in martial arts in the afternoon, he told AFP. With this combination, I thought I could learn about the real ninja.

It has been a fulfilling two years because I lived in a mountainous farming village in Iga to study ninja and pursued my research in my own way, he told the Asahi Shimbum newspaper. His professor, Yuji Yamada, described him as a real role model for graduate students who study ninja, because of the way he blended in with the local community. That's really cool. This guy is interested in ninja culture, so he decided to make a career out of it. I love it. That's what more people should do, I think.

Find a gap or a space in knowledge and attack that. Fill in the gap for other people, you know? Alright, moving on. The vocabulary check will be at the end of the episode, by the way. Next headline. This one took place in Michigan in the United States, and the headline reads. Michigan Library frustrated by damaged books. A library in Michigan is urging the public to stop microwaving its books as a method to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The Kent District Library, serving Grand Rapids, Michigan, has had so many damaged books from microwaving that it has taken its plea to social media. This is what the post said. Reminder that Kent District Library will quarantine returned materials for 72 hours. The pictures below show what will happen when you try microwaving a book. The radio frequency tags in all KDL materials have metal in them. They will catch on fire in the microwave.

Elizabeth Warino Kozlowitz, regional manager of Kent District Library, wondered where the method originated. I don't know if it was something that they saw on the news that they thought maybe the heat would kill COVID-19, Kozlowitz told the Detroit Free Press. The library said it uses United States Center for Disease Control guidelines to ensure safety for using library materials. It also keeps all materials in quarantine for at least 72 hours.

I love that they had to actually tell people to stop microwaving books. That's so ridiculous. But hey, that's what happens when bad information gets out and people believe it. Always verify your sources. Next headline. This one also took place in the United States, but in a very different area. For this one, we go to the magical and wonderful land of Florida. The headline reads. Florida man trapped on property with hundreds of parrots. Bird Sanctuary has no path out.

With a legal battle underway, a Florida man has had no choice but to spend every day and every night at his bird sanctuary with only a couple hundred parrots to keep him company. The Tampa Bay Times reports that Majeed Magic Ismaili from Zaxi Florida Bird Sanctuary recently contacted the newspaper about his predicament. Ismaili's five-acre sanctuary is surrounded on all sides by other people's property, leaving him with no way to get in and out.

According to the report, Ismaili used to have an agreement with neighbor Linda Fowler that allowed him and others visiting the sanctuary, including volunteers who help care for the birds, to use a path through her property that led to a public road. Fowler told the newspaper she was over Ismaili acting like a madman and scaring customers away from her horseback riding ranch. Because of that, she put up two locked gates and decided to take Ismaili to court.

While a judge initially ruled in Fowler's favor, the case is currently in appeal and a stay has been granted, to require Fowler to open the gate and allow Ismaili to use the path until the appeal is decided. That should happen in a few days, but in the meantime, Ismaili said he's been struggling to feed himself, alimentarse, and his 200 parrots, and described himself in an email to the Times as a prisoner in his own property. Wow. One bird is cool, a few birds becomes a problem, but 200 birds.

He must be going crazy. Anyway, it's that time. The time you've all been waiting for. It's time for our vocabulary check. Let's go. Okay, the first word I want to talk about is the verb to enroll, spelled E-N-R-O-L-L. The sentence was Mr. Mitsuhashi was one of three students to enroll in the master's degree at Mi University's International Ninja, etc. To enroll means to officially register as a member of an organization or a student in a course.

The second word I want to talk about is the adjective fulfilling, spelled F-U-L-F-I-L-L-I-N-G. The sentence was, it has been a fulfilling two years because I lived in a mountainous farming village and ego to study ninja. If something is fulfilling, it is rewarding, it is gratifying, it gives you pleasure and satisfaction in a deep way. It translates to gratificante, I would say. Another example is volunteering can be very fulfilling. Number three is role model.

The sentence was, his professor, Yuji Yamada, described him as a real role model for graduate students who study ninja. So a role model spelled R-O-L-E, space M-O-D-E-L, is a person seen by others as an example to be imitated. Whenever I hear the words role model, I think of the commercial with Charles Barclay where he says. A plea is an urgent and emotional request, okay? It translates to petition or supplica. Next up is number five.

Spelled UN D E R W A Y. The sentence was with a legal battle underway, a Florida man has had no choice but to spend every day and every night, etc etc. Underway means having started and in progress. Happening now, basically. So a legal battle was happening at the time of this article. Okay, another one. This one is a phrasal verb that I have talked about before, but I wanted to point out again. I'm talking about the phrasal verb to put up.

The sentence was, because of that, she put up two locked gates and decided to take Ismaili to court. To put up means to build in this context. It's kind of like construir and colocar at the same time. You also put up a poster in your room, but you can put up a fence, una reja or cerca o berja, or whatever you say in your version of Spanish. The next one is blended in, and it's in the same sentence as a role model.

It was, his professor, Yuji Yamada, described him as a real role model for graduate students who study ninja because of the way he blended in with the local community. If someone or something blends in, they are similar to the other people, objects, buildings, etc. around them as to not be noticed. Speaking of blended in, let's talk about the word stealth too.

The sentence was, Master's student Genichi Mitsuhashi, age 45, spent two years examining historical documents on the true nature of the stealth fighters while perfecting his martial arts skills. Stealth fighters meaning ninjas. So stealth, spelled S-T-E-A-L-T-H, refers to movement that is quiet and careful in order not to be seen or heard. I've always heard this word when talking about the airplane, the stealth bomber. That black triangular airplane that can't be detected by radar or something.

You know which one I'm talking about. Alright, I hope that was clear, and I hope you add these words to your vocabulary, or at the very least, I hope they don't confuse you next time you come across them. Next time que te encuentres con ellas. That's the show for today. I hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to follow me on Instagram at English With Dane and follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.

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