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?