A bit of Chinese in a sneaker blog

Kesan, the Chongqing-born Chinese teen who first made his appearance here as the funny Chinese clown, now has a blog where he posts pictures and words about sneakers. Well I'm happy to report that he included some Chinese in a post about Air Force 1 Year of the Rabbit sneakers. He said the design is inspired by 大白兔奶糖 = Big White Rabbit Milk Candy. Thanks for the translation, and enjoy your sneaker obsession :D

I guess I've been wrong about possessive "s"

Uh oh...I've been following the wrong rule for years when it comes to possessive "s" after words that end with "s". According to IIT/Kent Law:

If a singular noun ends in an "s," use "'s" to create the possessive form only if the noun ends in a "s" sound. However, if the noun ends in a "z" sound, use just an apostrophe without adding an additional "s." This produces a more pronounceable possessive.

Correct: The car in question was Roger Weiss's red convertible.

Also Correct:

I was a student in Professor Abrams' Torts class.

I've assumed that you don't add an "s", though I've noticed Brits tend to add an "s". I better start writing correctly :o

Brief French and Japanese encounters

For two days in a row, I had some exposure to languages I understand but don't hear much: French and Japanese. A lot of languages are represented in Chicago, but for some reason, I don't hear Japanese much, unless I go to Mitsuwa, and rarely hear French, unless I go to the Alliance Française.

But yesterday, I was in a store and heard a couple behind me speaking Japanese, and it was so great to finally hear an Asian language I understand. At one point, the guy looked at a sign, read the English, then said in Japanese that he didn't understand what it said. I was tempted to say "I do" in Japanese and freak them out, but they probably wouldn't have processed it anyway and would've looked at me baffled.

Then today, I was walking down the street and heard a guy speaking to a woman in French. The guy sounded like a native speaker, and the woman sounded American, and she ended up being someone I haven't seen in a few years. Very weird. But unfortunate too, because my spoken French is lame. I told the guy in French that I can read it, and we exchanged some small talk, but I didn't attempt a real conversation.

I can't believe I finally had a chance to talk to a French person about whatever I wanted, and couldn't do it. I need to go to France to get that language in my head beyond the reading level :(

My phone is confused

I have no idea why my phone offered me a Portuguese or English option, but I decided to display Portuguese and input English. For a while, those two languages stayed separate, but one day, the display got mixed up. I don't know what caused the mixture, but it's like my phone is code-switching.

So now, within one menu or screen, I might have four options in Portuguese and one option in English, or there might be several options split evenly, or all the options might only be in Portuguese. The mixtures are so random, I wonder what rules my phone is following. If at all!

Another development is that apps or mobile websites will give me directions or displays in Portuguese, sometimes with a splash of English. It was amusing for a while, but today, I ran into some trouble. I downloaded the Nobex Radio app, and it assumed I wanted Portuguese, so it's all Portuguese, all the time. As a result, I ended up getting a few New York stations (probably because a lot of Brazilians live there) and other stations that I don't recognize. The app is useless--doesn't work at all. It's probably confused, too.

So now I have to exit the mixed Portuguese-English world to go back to all English so that I can get some stations that work.

I'd still like to know why my phone came up with Portuguese as an option. There are way more Spanish speakers in Chicago than most other languages. Why such a selection? Maybe because my Facebook was in Portuguese at the time (it's now in Canadian French).

Oh well, such is the latest installment of my language adventures :D

German grammar podcast

Even though I studied German and was able to communicate when I went to Germany, and have even translated it, it's really declined due to my focus on trying to improve my Japanese reading. But I've decided to shut out the world when walking around downtown and listen to language podcasts. One I found is "GerGerman Grammar Podcasts: German Grammar for Chagrin Falls High School German Students." I think Chagrin Falls is in Ohio.

Unfortunately, the teacher has not posted new audio files, but there are a lot in the archives. I hope he doesn't take his site down.

the Malaysian equivalent of "eh"

Jordan, who now posts more to his Twitter than his blog, posted this comment, which went to his Facebook: "Was talking to my buddy Ron on the phone & ended a sentence with 'kan?' He's Canadian. I'm...somewhat less Canadian now, apparently."

I had no idea what he was talking about. I know that Canadians often say "eh" at the end of their sentences, like we say "You know?" or "Know what I mean?", so I assumed that "kan" had the same meaning. However, I wanted to know exactly what it meant, so a Malay friend of his explained that "kan" comes "From the word 'bukan', which means 'not'. Cantik, kan? (Beautiful, not?)."

Interesting...

The guy who gave me a tour of a TV station let me interview him

A couple of years ago, I was invited to a TV station, and since then, I haven't seen the guy who gave me the tour at all.

Well he stopped working at that station as an anchor and now works at another one as a reporter, so I decided to see if he would agree to let me interview him for my podcast. Surprisingly, he said yes, so here's the interview. I've also enclosed the direct audio link if you're a subscriber to this blog.

My quiz is number one

Wow, over five years ago, I posted an American Culture quiz, and it's become number one in an online search. I know a couple of ESL teachers who use it in their classes, so I'm glad it's been useful. I remember when I first posted it. I got some feedback from the Great Language Hat, so I ended up revising it. The quiz was based on questions that non-Americans asked me, and I planned on doing a follow-up, but I didn't get any more questions. If you think I should create another one, let me know.

Another annoying accent

It's the end of another long day, and right now, my husband is watching Cake Boss. It's interesting, but I've gotta say it: Buddy's accent is very annoying, and his sister has an even more annoying one. I don't even know if that's the sister I'm thinking of because he has a few, so maybe they're all annoying. But she's very nasal and shrill and constantly nags him, and seems so high maintenance, which makes it worse.

But back to him: his accent sounds whiny and squeaky, and he seems like a mama's boy. I know he's not an actor, so it doesn't matter, but still. Maybe because I don't live in New Jersey, I just find those nasal, high-pitched accents grating, especially because they seem to deal with a lot of drama and are consistently complaining and explaining.

I just want to tell everyone to relax, it's going to be okay. Then maybe their accents would mellow out as well.

News over manga

I haven't been reading my Japanese manga lately because I have been reading the Yomiuri online (with help from the wonderful site Popjisyo). I really like the Yomiuri more than the other news sites. I don't know if it's considered the best, but it works for me.

I think because of the tsunami and earthquake devastation, it's hard for me to get involved in a seemingly trivial manga because I feel so bad for the people over there. At this point, it's hard to read both: I took on more work, and by the time I get home at night, my mind is too stretched to try to comprehend a lot of Japanese, so I try to read a bit of the news earlier in the day.

Honestly, I'm starting to regret taking on more work because it's really cut into my Japanese reading time, and has even affected my podcast. However, we're getting a spring break soon from school, so I will probably really enjoy that time off to resume more heavy-duty Japanese pursuits.

I hope they're okay over there.

Writer's block

Horacio, a guy I met offline after meeting him online via another online acquaintance, is an up-and-coming comedian who's been complaining lately about writer's block. Here's a video that he said he identifies with.

A brave man

Late last year, I decided to not watch much TV anymore, but I've been sick with the flu and cold (which is why I haven't posted anything here in almost a week), so I've been watching TV to get my mind off how I feel. Actually, I don't usually get sick, and I'm frustrated that I am. Plus, I stupidly went back to work too early, so I haven't recovered, and was too sick to go in today.

Anyway, I watched a Frontline episode about the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, and I highly recommend it. Earlier this year, his studio was destroyed by the government. His dad was also punished by the government, forced to clean toilets because he was a poet.

So I will join the thousands of others who think Ai Weiwei is a very brave man who will probably have to pay severely for his boldness.

Don't mess with nature

Scott Becher posted this video of the rapid destruction of Kesennuma in Japan. See more about how the tsunami destroyed that town at Japan Probe.

It's Friday

Some meaningful responses to that wonderful song.

I'm so American

Wow, I didn't realize how much time passed since I last did a post--five days, which isn't awful, but is still a gap. I hate to say this, but I've been very busy. It's a very American thing to say when someone asks you, "How are you?" and you reply, "I'm busy!" It seems to be a status symbol in the US, but for me, it's just making me tired and forcing me to organize my time more wisely.

One of the things I've been doing is writing for people's sites. The writing I've done isn't under my name, so I won't link to it, but it just goes to show that the more you write, the more work you can get. I think this blog has helped me get work because people have been able to see what I can do and that I can stick with something for a while. Many people have abandoned their blogs, but I haven't, amazingly. I would like other opportunities to write online, but I have to try to figure out how to achieve that. Not only do I have to find the opportunities, but I have to figure out how to best manage my time.

Some wild English from China

This picture comes from a zoo in the hometown of the Chongqing-born Chinese teen who was also the funny Chinese clown. No need to say more.

the Romanian media: scary

Cristina shared this article about journalism in Romania. It is a must-read if you want to know about the corrupt Romanian media. They're no longer Communist, but they haven't moved beyond its corruption and control. For example:

Local oligarchs—rich businesspeople who are involved in politics and whose primary business interests are not in media—now own and control media. Usually their business interests are also the target of criminal investigations. The reason that they invest in money-losing media corporations is to gain leverage to negotiate with politicians to keep themselves out of jail. They run their media companies as they would a military operation, and like their predecessors, they, too, profoundly dislike independent and nosey journalists.

Even though it's about a country that probably not a lot of people have been to, or ever will (I went there in the mid-90's), it is a sad story of how a country can formally change a system but really not change its ways. Scary.

Great analysis of the Bieb

I've been wondering why and how Justin Bieber cops an attitude and speaking style that reflects apathetic, detached American inner city youth more than the Canadian town he's from. It's such a phony act--they've told him to speak as if he's from the West or South side of Chicago, not like the white suburban Canadian he really is.

Well tonight I heard a great analysis of his image, and I was so glad that some of his fellow Canadians were discussing it, because they were essentially saying what I've been thinking, and adding some interesting analysis about him as well.

Unfortunately, the CBC site doesn't link to just that episode, so you'll have to go to the Q show page, find the March 15 episode of the show (which today is at the top of the list), and go to the part towards the end where "Q takes a look at 'Biebonics', Justin Bieber's hip-hop style diction training." It's totally worth the listen!

Raw video of earthquake in Japan

The situation in Japan is so sad. I hope they will be able to recover from this tragic event. Here's a video that is a compilation of first-hand accounts of the earthquake. What I like about it is that it is raw, with no commentary, just video of different locations during the quake. I experienced a couple of minor quakes over there, in addition to a couple of minor ones in Los Angeles. They of course do not compare at all to the devastation that has recently occurred.

Japanese videos and stories of tsunami and earthquake

Of course, the whole world knows about the devastating tsunamis and earthquakes in Japan, and most likely, you've been reading and seeing all about them in your own language (ie, English). But if you want a Japanese perspective, check out News24.jp. Here are some links to videos and stories that I found. There are a lot more at the site.

1) Short video of when the tsunami first hit

2) Early tsunami damage filmed from above

3) Earthquake damage filmed from above

4) Longer video of all kinds of damage and people's reactions

Even if you don't understand Japanese, you'll be able to at least see the video that they shot. If you want to do a search at that site, you can use the kanji 津波 for "tsunami" and 地震 [jishin] for "earthquake".

Paczki overload

Wow, I think I should not have eaten paczki this year. In recent years, I've had the opportunity to eat just one of them, but this year, I could've eaten a few. I had one last week, one yesterday when a Polish student brought them to class, and was offered a fresh homemade one today--it had just come out of the oven--from my Polish boss. I was tempted to try it, but I was still feeling sick from the one I had yesterday.

They are uber-doughnuts because they're rich and thick, and are usually stuffed with jelly, cream, chocolate, or anything else that's gooey and good. Some of them look like doughnut sandwiches because the doughnut is split in half, and there's so much filling inside, it oozes out like an over-stuffed sandwich.

Even looking at that picture makes me feel nauseated because they're so delicious, but so sweet and rich. No wonder it's called Fat Tuesday (even though Polish people eat them on the previous Thursday).

It's the 21 century, yet some browsers can't show other alphabets

I'm just venting here because I was going to do a post involving Japanese and perhaps Thai links, and wanted to be sure I could read them before I posted them here. But as usual, I'm on a computer with a couple of browsers that don't render non-Romanized alphabets. Since it's a school computer, I can't load them because I need admin access, which I obviously don't have, but still--we're in the 21st century--we should be able to view any kind of alphabet we want by this point. Dang, I wonder when it will finally happen.

How to fold a shirt in Japanese

Someone who doesn't speak Japanese, and has never even been to Asia, told me about this video of a Japanese woman explaining how to fold a shirt. You don't need to know Japanese to learn how to do it, and if you do know it, it's a good opportunity to read and listen to the language, while learning something new. I also like how they have traditional Japanese music at the end. :D

Interview with creator of Shima Kosaku

If you've been reading this blog consistently, you know I've become a fan of 島耕作(Shima Kosaku), and I'm on my third one.

Well I've been reading different stuff online about that manga, and came across an interview with Kenshi Hirokane, who's the creator of the Shima series.

What's very cool is that he appeared on Taiwanese TV, and a bilingual anime fan translated it into English for us non-Chinese speakers in the world! Thanks dormcat!

Learn to talk like a pirate

This video is funny, and looks like one of those educational films from the 60's and 70's.

Good explanation of scanlation

Now that I've finally entered the world of manga (at least one series), I started looking into various kinds of terms for that subculture, and came upon scanlation: "the scanning, translation and editing of comics from a foreign language into a different language." And since Japan produces a lot of manga, there are a lot of scanlations out there, especially into English.

I found a very good explanation of scanlation at Inside Scanlation. Even if you have a basic understanding of what it is, this site will help you understand the history of it as well.

Manga helpers

I came across a site called MangaHelpers that encourages people to translate manga for others to enjoy. I can't believe how much has been translated into English, and they have lots of other languages, too. The FAQ page is funny as it explains why someone should become a volunteer translator:

Face it, if you know Japanese you have a skill that MANY people would die to have. Why not "save the world" by using it. Tons of people are grateful for the time you take to translate (even though sometimes they don't say it) so if you do take the time to translate, you are taking the time to make TONS of people around the world VERY happy. And, earning yourself some fame too.

I found a translation of a chapter from the first Young Shima Kosaku. I actually just got the fourth book in that series, but I don't know if I'd want to spend the time translating it, especially since I've been so busy lately.

I wonder if there's been a halt to posting Shima translations because there aren't many there, and at one point, the publisher Kodansha told the site to stop posting manga there (scroll down towards the end of this interview for the cease and desist letter they were sent).

Anyway, I know that this site has been around for a while, but I just discovered it now because I was really looking for something else, and just stumbled upon it.

Canese

Here's a word I haven't heard, which was just invented, actually: Canese, which means "Canadian Chinese". That was how Rebelx described the food he was having: Chinese food made in Canada. As an afterthought, he also thought of "Chinadian" as well.

Finished!

I'm very happy (or "chuffed", as the Brits would say) because I finished another 島耕作 (Shima Kosaku) manga. It's a big deal to me because it was 220 pages, and I managed to read it pretty consistently, though it took me a few months. I bought it after I finished reading the other manga.

It was very good, and included some interesting situations that you wouldn't see in the typical salaryman's life, but that's why it's fiction :D

I'm planning on getting another one, probably next week. I'm thinking of reading the very first one of the series, when he first enters the company, which was over 20 years ago.

Meanwhile, I'm still working my way through a Japanese book about Twitter, which seems totally dry compared to the manga I've been reading.

What gets passed around? Survey says...

This is hilarious because of the guy's response to the question "What gets passed around?". Steve Harvey's response is funny, too.

Chuffed in context

I mentioned "chuffed" before, but I want to mention it again because I just saw that word used in an online article, which made me realize that I wasn't reading an American site.

The sentence was: "Radio stations and TV channels are unlikely to be too chuffed."

In case you don't recognize the word, it means "pleased".

If you're studying English, let me tell you that Americans *never* use that word. But maybe I should start using it, to introduce it into our language and confuse people all around :D

Texans trying to pronounce Wisconsin names

Here are some Texans trying to pronounce names of Wisconsin towns at the Super Bowl.

The Chicago Code sent me a pizza

I've written about TV at Gapers Block, which is a Chicago site, so I was sent some press info about the upcoming TV show The Chicago Code. It's not my type of show, and I'm not thrilled with their choice of the city's first female police superintendent (she seems like a lightweight and sort of girly), but I think it will be popular with a lot of people. I especially like how they feature a lot of Chicago neighborhoods and sites instead of showing a few still shots and then filming in New York, LA, or Canada.

Anyway, the show sent me a pizza, which they probably sent to various press around town, and I just ate it. It's also from my favorite pizza place, which is also from Chicago :D So thanks, Hollywood, for the delicious pizza, and thanks for filming a show in my city without being fake about it.

Kisaragi is here

It's February, aka 二月 (Nigatsu) in Japanese. But thanks to the Japanese Consulate, I found out via an email that they sent out about Japanese culture that 衣更着 (Kisaragi) is "the old Japanese name for the month of February" and "is a contracted form of kinu sara gi, which means 'wear still more clothes'." And since there's a horrible thundersnow going on right now, I'd say that we definitely have to keep wearing more clothes :o

Now I'm reading one French article a day

I discovered a free Le Point app for my phone, and I love it! What I've decided to do is read one French article a day, usually at that site, and then look up any words I don't know at WordReference.com. WR has a mobile site, so I can easily search for words there when I encounter them at LePoint.

Previously, I translated quite a lot of French for some years, but I haven't been doing it lately. I still want to keep my reading skills sharp, so reading it online is a great way to do that. Basically, I'm very happy about this new habit :D

Bad French translation

Wow, I can't believe that a commercial language site is teaching people an archaic translation. Bill Moller has recommended learning a French word a day through a French word Facebook app, and they said that the word "l'hôtesse de l'air" means "air hostess". Seriously, who uses such a word in English? Certainly not in the US, and I don't think Brits use that word either.

They should have considered what that word means in English, rather than literally translating it. When I was growing up, "l'hôtesse de l'air" was a "stewardess". Now they're called "flight attendants". Air hostess: what era is that word from, if it was ever really in much use at all?

I started posting words that I can't remember on Twitter

Yesterday I was reading a Japanese article at Yahoo Japan, and I saw some words that I didn't know, and some others that I should know (ie, I've seen them before but keep forgetting the reading). So I decided to post a word on Twitter, and I'm going to keep doing that for random words that I want to remember. Through my struggle, perhaps other people will learn, too :D

My Twitter account is no longer private (I locked it a couple of years ago after getting spam and scum), and so far, it hasn't been spammed or corrupted, so it seems like that site has come a long way.

Still getting used to the evening schedule

I plan on posting something here, but I've been teaching ESL at night, and the traffic is so bad going there, I have to leave a couple of hours in advance--even though I live in the city, and the school is located in the city as well.

But I'm really enjoying it, so it's worth the drive and the late schedule.

Martin Luther King Day

For Martin Luther King Day, which honors the life of Martin Luther King, here is part of his last speech, right before he was assassinated.

French-speaking kids trying to figure out older technology

Elizabeth mentioned this video of French-speaking kids in Montreal who are trying to figure out what various technology is, including vinyl records, electronic games, and rotary phones.

If you want to see the English translation, turn on the captions.

Canadian flag near a Cantonese fight!

What is up with Canadians and their flag? This Vancouver video has an argument in Cantonese, and around 2:30, you can see a guy holding a Canadian flag. Is he trying to show people that he's a CBC (Canadian-born Chinese), or is he just joining the maple leaf bandwagon? I've noticed that Canadians really like their leaves.

Update: someone said that they think it's a mixture of Cantonese and another dialect, and that one woman is not a Cantonese native speaker, but is trying to speak it.

It's 11111!

How many times does this happen in life? It's January 11, 2011, which is also 11111 if you were to not put any separation between the numbers. That is cool! We will of course encounter this on November 11, 2011, so I'll probably mention it again.

And to those in Asia and others who are several hours ahead of the Americas: you don't have much of 11111 left, but it's still around, so enjoy it :D

Boston Brahmin accent

I've been reading about the Boston Brahmins, who are the original, wealthy, cultured, and powerful families in Boston. Here are a couple of people speaking with the Boston Brahmin accent, which is disappearing.

Learn about tampons in German

Through the Tagesschau site, where I watch German newscasts that I hardly understand (as part of my New Year's resolution to restore my German), I found a kid's site, where they explain lots of things. And I was surprised to see that one topic was tampons. So if you want to read about them, and even listen to a kid talk about them in German, just go to the Lilipuz site.

It's a new year, so time for some resolutions

Happy New Year everyone! I am so glad 2011 has come. 2010 had its ups and downs, but last year's resolution to get more Japanese into my life was achieved. I consistently read Japanese throughout the year, and even read a manga book. And I got a nice translating project for a good company.

Of course, this year will also contain language-related resolutions. I will continue to read Japanese consistently, and plan on reading more than one manga book this year, and possibly complete a regular book as well. But now that my work schedule is a lot more predictable and stable than last year, I will have a chunk of time every day to improve my other languages as well.

Such as German: at one point, I could speak it okay, and even read and translated it. But pursuing radio and Japanese and other dreams caused my German and other languages to recede. I was talking to a German guy who speaks perfect English and German (thanks to growing up in both countries), and he suggested I watch a bit of Tagesschau every day. Actually, he told me that I *must* watch every day, and I should watch the 20:00 newscast because it's the most complete. Now I feel pressure :o

I even got a lecture from a Chinese guy who told me that learning Mandarin shouldn't be as difficult as it is for other Westerners because my knowledge of kanji will help. But wouldn't that destroy my brain? I tried studying Mandarin before, but it was too much input. My brain almost locked up :o

Well, since I'm posting this publicly, I have to proceed with my multilingual plan. We'll see how the other languages do against Japanese, though :D

This typo shouldn't be in an English ad

I don't get it. This company spent a lot of money to put a full page ad in a magazine, and they don't have much copy, but they managed to have a typo. Didn't anyone proofread this? The typo, in case you didn't notice, is the use of "there" instead of the contraction "they're". And why did they capitalize "back"? They also should've used a professional designer who knows type.

I often see typos in stuff from China and other countries that are too cheap to hire a good translator or proofreader, but these are native English speakers. They should know better, or at least find people who do.

Korean history channel: Japanese dinosaurs

Radio version of It's a Wonderful Life

I never get tired of the movie It's a Wonderful Life. I've seen it numerous times since I was a kid, because they've played it all over TV when no one has owned the copyright.

Well if you want to hear the complete audio version of the movie that was broadcast on radio back in the 1940's (when radio mattered much more than now), just listen right here.

You don't need to know Japanese to see that this robot is a direct copy

Here's a report about how a Chinese company totally copied the Japanese robot Gandamu (ガンダム). They say that the color is different, but the details are the same, and compare the real Japanese robot to this knock-off. They even interview the creator of the original one. I will translate what he said later, since right now I have to finish some work. But basically, you don't need to understand Japanese to see how this robot is a direct copy. They even show other Japanese products that have been copied by Chinese companies. Way to go, losers.

Update: I was going to attempt to translate part of this video, but it has been removed, ironically due to copyright violations. So I've decreased the size of the embedded video here in order to not have a large black space.

Wuthering Heights: great story

Wow, I just watched the 2009 version of Wuthering Heights, and I had never seen or read it before, so I was really impressed. What a crazy, entertaining story, and that TV version is incredible. It was so intense and emotional, and the way they filmed it really captured its rawness. I highly recommend it: you can start watching the whole thing online here (it's in 14 parts).

You can also read it online for free here.

Weird Japanese toilet

Well, just watch the video. I don't have to say anything, other than I got it from the Chongqing-born Chinese teen who was also the funny Chinese clown.

I was going to post something, but I'm trying to figure out if I should use Twitter

The past couple of days, I've been looking at my Twitter account, wondering if I should use it and make it public, so I wasn't focused on posting here.

I remember when Twitter was starting out. Some bloggers adopted it early, and eventually posted more there than at their own blogs. But I didn't join until a couple of years ago, and at first it seemed okay, but then I started getting spammers following me. I tried to block them, but they didn't disappear, and I would send messages to Twitter, with no response or action.

So I assumed that Twitter was lame and not to be trusted. I thought it was becoming crappy like MySpace, which I left way before other people did (and now hardly anyone is there). I made my account private, so people could only follow me if I approved them.

Then I stopped using Twitter. It wasn't like I posted there much anyway, but I just really didn't like that site, and joined Tumblr instead. I like Tumblr a lot better: the interface is nice, it's multi-media, and there aren't as many creeps there. The only problem is that I hardly have any exposure there, but I guess that's okay. It's good to start small.

So now I'm still wondering if I should resume posting at Twitter, make my profile public, and link it to here, or if I should just use Tumblr. I have a smartphone now, which makes Twitter easier to use, but I don't feel too great about it.

At least I've linked my Tumblr to Twitter: that's a start.

great Next Generation episode with a great ending

I've seen the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode Ship in a Bottle more than a few times, and it's definitely one of my favorites. It was just on again tonight, and I never get tired of the ending. It's almost philosophical.

"As far as Moriarty and the Countess know, they're halfway to Meles II by now. This enhancement module contains enough active memory to provide them with experiences for a lifetime."

"They will live their lives and never know any difference."

"In a sense, you did give Moriarty what he wanted."

"In a sense, who knows? Our reality may be very much like theirs. All this might just be an elaborate simulation running inside a little device sitting on someone's table."

(all but Barclay leave)

"Computer, end program."

(nothing happens)

Israeli slang

I studied Hebrew growing up, and when I went to Israel when I was a teen, I was surprised to discover that I could actually speak it. Even though it was quite obvious that I had a knack for language since I was able to have conversations in Hebrew, I didn't really pursue or care about languages until I went to Japan after college. Now my Hebrew is non-existent, and I'd rather go to France than go to Israel again, but I still am interested in learning new things about the language.

So when someone sent me links to some brief articles in The Forward about Israeli slang, I had to check them out. There are several interesting ones, so I'll list them here. They don't take long to read, actually, since they're quite short.

haval al hazman: a waste of time

Ha matzav: the situation

Sa l'shalom: you can go

Tihiyeh large: to be large not physically, but in character

The insult of freier: sucker

How the state is ha medina

hazui: hallucinated in a surreal way

Tasteful video

I don't usually describe music videos as "tasteful", but this one has a kind of refined simplicity about it. I like the muted colors, which seem to have been de-saturated. It seems like a painting or photograph--each shot seems thoughtful.

Update is failed

A really nice guy who I met at an awful place said he "chuckled a bit when I was updating my Blu Ray player and when it was done, it would say 'Update is Failed'.....ahh God bless LG products lol..."

So we have yet another badly translated product from abroad. Please, hire good translators or at least editors who will correct such odd English.

By the way, it's supposed to be "Update has failed".

Answer the question

I don't understand how a publication can interview someone, then publish a question that hasn't been answered.

I was perusing Aspen Peak Magazine and came upon an interview with an interior designer. The first question they asked him wasn't answered:

You primarily design vacation homes for your clientele. How did you get your start?

Answer: I like to create fantasies and take risks when designing a home for a client, and I found that my clients are more creative and willing to experiment with a vacation home as opposed to a primary residence.

How does that answer the question? He promotes himself, but he does not explain how he got his start. If he, or the magazine, thinks the question was answered, then they are expecting the reader to infer it by assigning almost symbolic meaning to those words, rather than read a direct, real answer to the question.

If I was editing that article, I would either delete that question, or not publish it unless he really answered it.

A word nerd with a cool day job

Brian Cleary told me about his language-related books for kids (he calls himself a "Word Nerd"), but what really caught my attention was his day job. According to his Facebook page, "For his day job, he serves as a Senior Editor in the Humor Department at American Greetings."

Can you imagine having that as your day job? Someone would ask him, "American Greetings? What department?" And he would reply, "I work in the Humor Department."

A lot of people have to do some bland work to pay the bills, and do the creative stuff on the side, but his life is full of creative pursuits. Plus, his books sell well, so he's experiencing success professionally and through his passion.

He's obviously a smart, creative guy who's getting a lot out of life.

French Thanksgiving words

I know, it's weird to mention French when they don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but I find it amusing that someone has compiled list of French vocabulary related to the holiday. And it's a good way to practice your French :D You can also test it via the Thanksgiving quiz.

Crackiado

I was talking to someone who is bilingual in Spanish and English, and he said that when he was dealing with some people in Texas for work, they would use a different kind of Spanglish by attaching Spanish grammar to English words, and vice-versa.

For instance, he was talking to a guy who said a windshield was "crackiado" instead of "rajado". I think that's really cool, though a purist would think that's just so wrong. But there's so much language mixture in the US, I'm not surprised they ended up with "crackiado". I wonder if there's a list of such words out there.

Interview with powerful mass media guy who's not snobby

As you know, this blog isn't part of the mass media, and blogs had been derided by various people in the media, until a bunch grudgingly jumped on board. But before they did, we (the micro-media) were reading and writing all over the Internet, and the mass media didn't really care. Even now I'll meet some folks who think they're "too good" for such online participation, and I've heard negative comments about "those bloggers" as well.

But I talked to Lee Abrams, who's been one of the most influential and successful consultants in the mass media: he changed music radio forever, has worked with and knows a lot of popular bands, was at the beginning of satellite radio, consulted MTV, and has done a lot more. He has always worked in, and greatly profited from, mass media and mainstream culture, and unbelievably, he let me interview him!

Just the fact that he had no problem talking to me (I only had to ask him once, and he said yes right away) shows that for a successful mass media guy, he's very open-minded and not arrogant or snobby at all. A lot of people in the mass media don't think we micro-media folks are worthy of interaction. But he's different--in fact, I've met people who don't even have a fraction of the success he has, and they either don't respond or just refuse to do an interview.

Anyway, feel free to listen to it at this link (mp3 file).

I finished the manga!

Last summer, I started reading 島耕作 (Shima Kosaku) and didn't realize what slow progress I was making until my progress report earlier this month.

Well, today I finished it! 230 pages! It was great from beginning to end, and I'm going to get another one the next time I go to the Japanese store. I just hope that the next one I read will seem easier and not take as long. But now I'm really motivated, so maybe it will take a fraction of the time :D

Leftenant

I always wonder why Brits say "leftenant" for "lieutenant", and found some information that explains why:

In the time of Chaucer (1340?-1400), the distinction between the letters u and v did not yet exist in writing. Once they separated, people remained uncertain as to which sound each of these letters represented. Another theory focuses on auditory rather than visual confusion.

Read the rest of the explanation to find out a lot more.

Japanese 3D hologram concert

This is really weird but cool: a dancing hologram performing in Japan. The crowd looks fake too, especially with the way they use the glow sticks, but I guess the people are real. (found via Alan Cox's blog)

Fair Use

I just spent a lot of time (more than a few hours today and some yesterday) putting a podcast episode together with snippets of commercial music because I interviewed some on-air talent from a music station who were talking about various groups, and I thought it would be interesting to include musical examples of what they were talking about. Then, after all that work, I decided to make sure that what I was doing was legal, and I realized that it probably isn't.

There are a lot of discussions online about Fair Use of music, and the US Copyright Office is the place to go. They have a PDF of the complete U.S. Copyright Law and a list of sections so you can find what you need. But basically, this is what I learned from looking at the PDF:

"the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright."

So if you're going to use music as a way to make the podcast more interesting, even if it relates to the discussion, then it's not fair use. But if you're going to play a piece of music to critique it, then that's okay. Basically, when in doubt, get a license or permission, even if it's just for a few seconds. I got permission from a band to use their music in my podcast's intros and outros, but I guess I'm going to have to scrap the style of the latest podcast I did because I'm pretty sure it doesn't fall under Fair Use.

So now I'm wondering if all that work was a "waste" of time, but I guess it wasn't, because I was able to do this post. Plus, it was just an enjoyable thing I did, and maybe down the road my production skills will be put to use based on the practice I just had :D

Book Drum

Someone from Bookdrum noticed that I listed The Great Gatsby as one of my favorite books in my profile (read the entire book online here), and they suggested that I look at its multimedia profile over there. It seems like a very interesting site that makes books multi-dimensional, so if you're into books and want to express your love for them in various ways, feel free to join, or just check out what's already there.

Manga progress report

Ugh, now that I saw my post about my manga reading, I realize it's been a few months since I started reading it, and I'm still not done. I'm sure if I read it full time, I'd be done sooner, but I don't always have the time or energy to figure out what every word means, though I get the gist of the story.

Well I see the end in sight. I was quite busy last week with work and other things, but this week is slower, so I will have more time to devote to it. And when I finally finish it, I will definitely celebrate that here!

Good interview with Russell Peters

A Canadian sent me a link to the Canadian show George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, which seems like a quality show. But check out the interview with Russell Peters (my favorite comedian). In under 15 minutes, it seems to cover a lot and is entertaining, and George is a good interviewer.

Unfortunately, the video can't be embedded here, so you have to go to the site.

Good business video by a guy I know

I just got this video from Bill Moller, who I met in radio, and who worked in TV news for years.

I'm posting this video here because it's very well done and to let people know that he's really this enthusiastic and friendly. Even though he's had a lot of experience and is successful, he's sincere and treats me well. I've met some people who are snotty because I'm not on their level, or who don't "get me," so they're not too friendly. Or they're just into themselves too much to care about others. And I've encountered such folks inside and outside the media. But Bill is different, for sure.

The hotel I stayed in Detroit is now closed!

This is so weird: the hotel that I stayed at in Detroit a couple of months ago when I was on my way to Toronto is now closed!

The hotel was quite expensive, so I was expecting a nice place. But some of the staff didn't do their jobs as you'd see at comparable hotels elsewhere in large US cities. The hotel seemed sort of dingy and I heard other guests complain about various things that really should be basic at a nice hotel. The restaurant was very good, but in general, there was a deadness about the place and area--right next to the river. And the people in general seemed tough and even hardened, probably because there's so much hopelessness there.

Unfortunately, GM went bankrupt, which affected the hotel. What an awful, sad situation the auto industry has become, especially Detroit.

Check out the TV news report--it's just a minute long. Poor Detroit--I saw how dismal that city is. It's on the decline for sure. It had so much promise before, now there's so much sadness :(

The Most Interesting Man on Trapper John

Last year, I did a post about the language-oriented Most Interesting Man commercial, and today I did a search of the actor's earlier work. Before he did those commercials, he was on a lot of TV shows. Look at the video below, around 7 minutes in. This one is from the mid-80's, like 25 years ago.

Cool site for learning manga and anime expressions

Wow, I didn't know how cool an Anime-Manga site was because it took a while to load, which made me wonder if the site was valid, but it's definitely worth the wait!

I'm so excited about this site, but let me calm down enough to explain: you can learn what phrases mean that are often found in anime and manga. And it teaches you the meanings in dynamic ways: several categories broken down into types of situations, and they give you the option of kanji, kana, or romaji to show the Japanese sentences, and provide the English translation below.

You can choose from several manga scenes, and the meanings and readings pop up. They also have games and quizzes. You can also learn character expressions, which includes audio. Actually, there's audio throughout the site. So it's really a dynamic place to learn Japanese: drawings, audio, games, variety...just a really great site if you're an anime and manga fan who wants to improve your Japanese. Have fun with it!

Didn't know this was about Pompeii

The song "Cities in Dust" came out when I was a teenager, and I still like it. But it wasn't until recently that I found out that it's based on the destruction of Pompeii.

What fushigi is in Japanese

A lot of people have been getting and talking about the Fushigi ball, so I want to explain what the Japanese word is.

First of all, the kanji looks like this: 不思議 (不 = fu, 思 = shi, 議 = gi), and it usually means "mystery", though some sources add "miracle", "strange", and "curiosity".

When I tell Fushigi ball fans that it's actually a Japanese word, they're surprised because they think it's some random word for that product. I've seen the ball, but I haven't tried it out, and don't really intend to. But apparently it makes some people happy.

Plagiarism: Led Zeppelin became rich by stealing music and lyrics from other bands and claimed it as their own

Even though Led Zeppelin is no longer together, it's still a very popular band that still gets a lot of airplay. I'm sure Robert Plant and Jimmy Page are still making a lot of money from the music they've created. But they didn't really create all that music; they stole it, and didn't give any credit to the musicians and bands that wrote it. This is blatant plagiarism, and not enough people know about it, because the videos below with proof of the theft still don't have enough views or exposure.

So I'm posting them here, and feel free to tell as many people as possible. If a band is going to get so much exposure, respect, and wealth, they should have integrity as well. Too bad Led Zeppelin, especially Page and Plant, could care less about ethics and resorted to stealing from other people to reap all those rewards from others' hard work.

I can't believe the French would screw up this translation

Arrogant Polyglot said that the English translation of the French label on his duvet is "The White Goose Below", which is certainly a weird translation for "white goose down".

I am surprised the French couldn't translate that one, unless it was manufactured in China or some other country where they don't bother to hire translators for their products.

The usual unnecessary and wrong use of apostrophes

Gosh, some people either use too many apostrophes or not enough. This sign is an obvious case of wrong usage.

Good trailer for interesting book

Someone sent me info about an interesting book: The Last Speakers, which is about "K. David Harrison's expeditions around the world to meet with last speakers of vanishing languages."

The trailer for it is very well done, which is not surprising since it's created by National Geographic.

I guess this is a real last name

Brent Payne (a very interesting guy I interviewed for my podcast) saw this name: it must be real because I think this is a workspace.

It's already September and I realized I've been here 6 years

Wow, time flies. I started this blog in August, 2004 and now it's September, 2010. Six years. That's a long time for a blog that does not have super exposure and doesn't make me money or bring me fame :D Not that I'm looking for it. But I've had thousands of visitors from well over 100 countries, and I'm glad people have found it online and have told others about it. I still love language and will continue to study and translate it. So much has happened since I started this blog--when I started it, I was working a lot at home and felt the need to express myself and my love for language. Since then I've worked in so many situations and have experienced so much, most recently good. Thanks for reading and feel free to tell your friends :D

Good clean podcast

A lot of podcasts that are considered entertaining tend to have lots of swearing, vulgarities, and other things that aren't allowed on broadcast radio since there are no FCC rules for podcasts. But here's a good one that is entertaining and clean: Snyde Remarks Radio.

I met one of the hosts (they're married) Wendy Snyder at a Chicago radio station, and she is very cool. I also interviewed her for my podcast because she's been on the air for several years and is quite well-known locally. Her husband hosts a popular Star Wars podcast and has been working in radio for years, so they're both professional broadcasters, which means their podcast doesn't sound amateur like some others I've heard.

If you're learning English, it's also a good way to practice your listening skills for natural speech.

Land of the Lonely

I read a good article that expressed what I've been thinking for a while: we live in an isolating society where people have lots of "friends" but they're not really deep: "in restricting ourselves to the thin gruel of modern friendships, we miss out on the more nourishing fare that deeper ones have to offer." True, but not a lot of people realize that, and I don't think they ever will.

Whenever I see people's large list of friends on Facebook or wherever, I wonder how many of those people they really connect with. Sometimes I want to point out the charade and tell everyone they're playing a game, but then I wonder if there's something "wrong" with me because I don't want to play the same game. Sure, I know a lot of people, but I want to connect in a real way with them as well. However, they would think that is weird, so I just stay within the definitions we've all set, and it actually bothers me that some folks are so superficial and want to keep everyone in a box.

Especially in the US, there are so many people traveling on their own path and they don't like to cross with others unless it suits them in some way. The article says that

Developing meaningful friendships—having the kind of people in your life who were once known as "intimates"—takes time, but too many of us are locked in what social critic Barbara Ehrenreich has called "the cult of conspicuous busyness," from which we seem to derive status and a certain perverse comfort even as it alienates us from one another.

People seemed pleased with themselves when they tell me "I am so busy", and I've said the same thing and even caught myself feeling proud of my packed schedule, but realize I'm just getting caught up in such a status symbol. I like being busy but not to the point that I don't have time for people. But when I do have time for them, it's like watching people go by on one of those people movers that you see in some airports or in The Jetsons. They want to communicate, but only within strict limits, within defined times.

I think that interesting people are rare, so when I meet them, I really want to get to know them better. Maybe they're baffled by the pursuit of "friendship" but act like the non-interesting masses to fit in, but I can't easily find out what they're thinking because they're not willing to let their guards down to discuss this modern trend.

I don't know if it's just an American thing, but it's something I've noticed ever since I moved back here years ago. I hear from non-American residents that Americans seem fake because they smile and seem friendly, but they don't want to go deeper. However, with people's reliance on technology to connect with other humans, the trend can become worldwide.

I just don't want to be accused of being insincere, but I also don't want to be going against the grain. I'm just glad I know at least a few real people I can talk with who know what true communication is.

Spanish laugh

A lot of people use "lol" or "ha ha" online (and Thais use "555" because 5 is "ha" in Thai), but I learned recently from one of my ESL students that the Spanish online laugh is "ja ja ja" because "j" is pronounced as "h" in Spanish.

So if you're ever chatting with someone or see a post online from a Spanish speaker and they use "ja ja ja" to show laughter, now you know why :D

Good ad

I don't want to promote ads since I don't get any money or products from those businesses for writing this blog, but this commercial is so good. I like the style of it and the pace, and there's something about it that seems real. How many times have you seen something and imagined you with it? We all imagine "What if" and this captures that. It's simple but effective. I really like the woman's look and voice too.

Unfortunately, this is the only video I could find, and it's not as good quality as it should be, but at least you can get the idea of what the ad is like.

Still a great song

For some reason, when I was doing all that Japanese translating, I kept listening to this song. It's so good, even more than 20 years later.

Yikes

I was going to do a post today, but I'm in the middle of a massive Japanese translation project, and I will hopefully still be alive tomorrow--the kanjis are overwhelming me :D

Good country song title

Here's a good title and concept for a country song that I made up: "My Heart is Leaking Without You". So if you end up hearing that anywhere, remember it was me ("I" to be grammatically correct) who created it :D

How is fruit vegetarian or vegan?

Still can't figure it out.

Well-written Facebook comment

Sometimes the comments on Facebook are a good read, such as the one below, posted by Chris Duffy (who's been on my podcast). This is his response to an article that featured the ugliest cities in the US:

Total BS, and more predictable crap from some full-of-herself priss sitting in either NY or LA, capering merrily she's not from one of these cities, and clueless to the fact that their inhabitants share that joy as well.

Ironically, topping the 'Best Looking' cities? Miami. Which is a total tropical sh**hole that makes you reach for the brochure ... See Moreon Tijuana time-shares.. Miami is endless cheap strip malls, graffitti, expressways designed by cracked-out Italians and sprawl....with maybe 1 to 3 miles tops of modestly attractive neighborhoods. And for every sun bunny, there's 30 decrepit losers that the city collects from all over the world. The joke there? Someone tilted the United States on its' side. Whatever wasn't bolted down rolled into South Florida.

Besides, one word; Lebron. Rich. Famous. And the last person on Earth you want to see trotting around in a banana hammock. All glam, but when the Speedos are off? Eeeew. Welcome to Miami. Sing it Will.

Once a year, some useless soul puts together what amounts to a a 'Detroit/Cleveland/Pittsburgh' bashing list, whether its' looks or traffic or life span or health....always making fun, guffawing at some fault or another of that cromagnon wasteland they call 'flyover country'. Fact is, those cities you chuckle at are the reason you don't speak Nazi, lady. They built the machinery that turned the good ol' US of A from a one horse episode of the Waltons to the savior of the freedom loving PLANET. Now, as you drop what for them is 6 house payments on one spa treatment, they don't ask for much. Maybe a compliment on their delightful rap music. And unique mustards. Perhaps a second glance at the cars they build. (...yknow, the ones that DONT accelerate on their own and kill your whole family) Those.

By the way Madonna and Taylor Lautner are both from Michigan. And even Queen Bitch himself, Elton John, thinks Eminem is hot. (Or was, anyway, pre-Slim and more Shady). So stuff your list where the botox don't tighten, totalbeauty.com. There's no palm trees and the sushi sucks. But I'll take ten minutes of steeltowns over a lifetime of plastic anyday.

I like good writing, wherever it is.

the Japanese Language Proficiency Test has changed!

I can't believe it--for so long, the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (aka Nihongo Noryoku Shiken) had a similar format and just four levels, but now the content has changed and they added a level!

I'm one of those people who passed level 3 several years ago but had a hard time with level 2 more recently because it was way harder. Even back then, level 2 was difficult, but I think in recent years they made it even harder because I think too many people were taking it, including Chinese people who could easily ace the kanji.

Anyway, I might try to take the new level 4, though it's been so long since I took the test, I'm wondering if I should start with level 3. I need to decide by late September.

Funny [Chinese] clown

This is such a funny picture, I just had to post it here. This guy is one of the most interesting people I've met, and he's only a teenager. He's really smart and can talk to different kinds of people, and has no problem being friendly with adults. He also has a more international/unique perspective because he came from China, and speaks English and Mandarin fluently, in addition to a dialect that he says doesn't have tones (though I wonder if it does, based on the description of his hometown Chongqing).

Update: after reading this post, he read about his dialect and realized that it *does* have tones. Which makes me wonder why he thought that. I guess that's part of being a fluent native speaker of a language: you just speak it and don't analyze it, especially if you're just a teen :D

Why is this N backwards?

A sign in Toronto: why is the N backwards?

Tajin

My ESL students introduced me to a great Mexican spice that has been around for a while, which I thought was unnecessary. But it's really good: Tajin. It's a combination of lime, salt, and a hot spice. You're supposed to put it on fruit, even watermelon (which I thought was unnecessary because it's so sweet), and it sounds weird to do that, but it's actually very tasty. I also put it on cucumbers and other vegetables.

I served some watermelon to some people who were born in the USA and had never tried such a spice, and at first they thought it was odd, but they thought it tasted okay.

But I think it's more than okay, and I plan on using the spice often.

And btw--the pronunciation is "Ta-Hin" (not Ta-Jin).

Going to TO again

If you've been reading this blog for a while, then you probably know that I've been to Toronto a few times. I went when this blog was in its infancy, then a few years ago, and am going again. So if I don't post much here, that's why. I'm hoping to get near a computer to post impressions of the place, including how many Chinatowns they have, and how huge they are. Maybe I'll try to take some pictures and post them here.

And I'm so into reading the Japanese manga and book I started, I'm bringing them with me, along with my dictionaries.

Another article that I got paid for

One of the reasons why I haven't really posted much here recently was because I was working on an interview that I got paid for through a grant that helps promote under-represented areas of Chicago (the areas that the media doesn't really care about unless there's some weird murder or whatever).

The neighborhood is called Back of the Yards, and I wrote about a woman who is trying to make things better for the community there.

My previous article that I got paid for through the same grant was about a recording artist from a rough neighborhood on the West Side.

Last week of teaching and other stuff

I know a number of people subscribe to this blog, and others just pop in, and you're probably wondering why I haven't been posting much lately, but it's a combo of teaching a lot of ESL this summer, in addition to other work and projects. But the teaching is ending this week, which means more writing time for me :D

Also, things have been developing with my podcast. I've been interviewing various people for the podcast, and was even mentioned in the Chicago Sun-Times, analyzed in Robert Feder's column, and even broadcast on Howard Stern's show because I interviewed his former program director who's become infamous.

Anyway, it's my last week of teaching, which means I will post more here and at Gapersblock more often. I'm sure they're not too happy about my infrequent posting there either.

The best part though is that I've still maintained my consistent Japanese reading, so I'm very happy about that. I don't know what the fall is going to bring for me though :/

They speak Portuguese in Portugal

I had to reread this sentence in an article about singer Nelly Furtado in a magazine that prides itself on representing an "exclusive" area: "Although she was raised in Canada, Nelly’s parents were from Portugal, and she’s spoken Spanish since she was 14..."

Then the article continues to talk about her new Spanish songs. So obviously, in a typical PR move, they put two facts together, Portuguese parents and Spanish, to justify her Spanish attempts.

What about Portuguese? If the magazine is as sophisticated as it claims, they wouldn't dupe the reader into thinking that Portugal and Spanish are in the same place.

But unfortunately, they watered down the information to perhaps appease the famous singer's publicists because it would be too complicated and perhaps confusing to reveal the fact that she's really Portuguese, not Latin American, and came from the Portugese language instead of the more profitable Spanish. It would obfuscate the marketing message.

I wish they would show some more intelligence and not make simple connections to promote a superficial idea to gain more album sales.

Good web design info

Here is a great site with very helpful articles on web design: Scratchmedia. They are a business, but they also offer a ton of great information. I also agree with their philosophy that simple is better when designing websites, though a lot of people want bells and whistles, even though such sites can take a long time to load and can feel cluttered.

"Boy" Bruce Lee

Here is a great quote from Bruce Lee: some producers called him "boy" and ordered him to get "his car" to pick up a celebrity, even though he was a star in The Green Hornet. When someone asked him how he dealt with such racism, he said, "Does it bother me? If I let it bother me, I wouldn't be Bruce Lee." Way to go! The video of this recollection is below. It's less than 30 seconds in.

Funny Engrish

There are various Engrish (odd English) sites out there, and feel free to share your discoveries, but here's one that someone sent to me that is really funny. I don't know why so much odd English comes from Asia, but maybe that's because the languages of East and West are so different, and probably because they don't want to hire anyone to check/fix their signs and packages. Or they don't have access to decent English speakers/writers.

Check out Engrish Funny if you want a laugh.