1月 2012
1件の投稿
Stories along the way.: Grief on the bathroom... →
swimbikeren:
I remember being a young girl, 7 or 8 years old, sitting by my grandfather’s bed in my grandparent’s house. It was a big, mechanical hospital bed that had been brought in for him. I remember him reaching his wrinkly hand over to me and saying.. Hey sunshine, how was school? I remember, rather…
12月 2011
2件の投稿
Stories along the way.: RunGirl 13.1 Relay with... →
swimbikeren:
This is the run where I really just had a good time.
I got up at about 5:30, I slept really well last night and I felt great. I had no anxiety about the half a half. I was excited, I dressed, grabbed my stuff, and took off. In the car I had a Pumpkin Pie Clif Bar, some Diet Coke, some water, and…
Stories along the way.: The half marathon turned... →
swimbikeren:
Sometimes it’s very difficult to discern between making petty excuses and listening to common sense.
I woke up this morning feeling SO ready to do the distance on my plan. Week 9 of my marathon plan says “Half Marathon” for the long run. I didn’t register for one, so I was planning to just do my…
10月 2011
1件の投稿
Nise Hata Sakusen →
偽旗作戦 [にせはたさくせん] – False Flag
偽 [にせ] – false; counterfeit; fake
旗 [はた] – flag
作戦 [さくせん] – strategy
作 [さく・つくる] – to make; to build
戦 [せん・いくさ] – war; battle
The phrase “False Flag” refers to a…
9月 2011
1件の投稿
2タグ
Joss Whedon: Feminist
Interviewer: So why do you write these strong female characters?
Whedon: Because you're still asking me that question.
8月 2011
1件の投稿
Kenkon Itteki →
乾坤一擲 [けんこんいってき] - to play for all or nothing; throwing all into a task; to stake everything (on something)
乾 [カン] – heaven (also means dry, drought)
坤 [コン] – earth
一 [いち] – one
擲 [テキ] – resign
7月 2011
2件の投稿
Excuses, Excuses →
For as long as I can remember, the prevailing ‘wisdom’ in language learning has been that children are far more capable of easily learning a language than adults. In linguistic circles, this notion…
I’m Published! →
My hometown paper, the Daily Times Herald in Carroll, Iowa, did me the honor of asking me to write an Op-Ed piece on why I think we should learn other languages. It’s a bit long, but they decided to…
6月 2011
2件の投稿
TOCFL →
Taiwan News published a story today on the “Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language” (TOCFL), a comprehensive test “designed especially for non-native speakers of Chinese.” I’m guessing that TOCFL is…
Language Learning →
I’m working on an editorial piece for my hometown newspaper on why we (all) should learn a second (or third, or fourth) language. The first draft is done-ish, and I’m about to mail it to my contact…
5月 2011
1件の投稿
4月 2011
1件の投稿
PlayStation Network Outage →
The PlayStation Network has been hacked
Rather than wait for information from Sony USA or sift through the Twitter rumor mill, I decided to see what Sony Japan had to say about the…
3月 2011
5件の投稿
LOLKot →
“In my world there are only ponies. They eat rainbows and poop butterflies.”
If you’re a Russian learner, but bored with textbooks, why not check out the Russian version of LOLCats? Don’t expect to see Vanya asking for directions to the movie theater, though. Some of these pictures do to the Russian language what LOLCats did (and continues to do) to English. If your Russian slang...
A Message from the Emperor →
皇室
天皇陛下：お言葉全文（１６日）
天皇陛下のお言葉の全文は以下の通り。
The Imperial Household
His Imperial Majesty: Full Text of His Speech (3/16/11)
The full text of the Emperor’s speech is as follows…
Possible Nuclear Meltdown in Fukushima →
福島第一原発１号機、燃料の溶融が進んでいる可能性
The possibility of a meltdown in progress exists at Fukushima Daiichi, Reactor 1.
…
Earthquake →
Devastation in Hachinohe, where I spent a great deal of my youth.
A massive earthquake of 8.8/8.9, depending on the source, has struck Japan. To my knowledge, this is the largest…
Obligatory @CharlieSheen Post →
BRAAAAAAINS…
Charlie Sheen has experienced a sort of spiritual epiphany as of late. He is the topic of conversation everywhere you turn. Overnight, seemingly by some sort of warlock…
2月 2011
6件の投稿
Why It Pays to be Bilingual →
http://voxy.com/blog/2011/02/why-it-pays-to-be-bilingual-infographic/
Kyuukutsu →
窮屈 [きゅうくつ] – narrow; tight; stiff
窮 [キュウ・きわまる] – cornered; hard up
屈 [クツ・かがむ] – bend; submit; flinch
Learn the Lingo →
The moral of the story: learning the local language is a first step toward building bridges of friendship.
Alberta soldier who speaks Pashto draws stares in Afghanistan.
Risshun →
立春 [りっしゅん] – the first day of spring
立 [リツ・たつ] – to stand (up)
春 [シュン・はる] – springtime
According to the Japanese calendar, Spring is supposed to “stand up” on February 4th this year….
Setsubun →
節分 [せつぶん] – A holiday celebrating the last day of winter in the traditional Japanese calendar
節 [セツ・ふし] – time; section; node
分 [フン・ブン] – minute; segment
Happy Setsubun!
European (Whoa) Radio →
Do you study (or speak) a European language? Are you worried about losing it? Why not try listening to radio broadcasts your target language?
Countless radio stations all over the world stream…
1月 2011
6件の投稿
Language Learning Tip #1 →
Even if you don’t live in a country where your target language is spoken natively, you can still emulate some of the benefits you can get from such a situation.
Thanks to technology, the world is…
Bōsōzoku →
暴走族 [ぼうそうぞく] – a group of delinquents in Japan known for driving very loud bikes and cars recklessly and generally making nuisances of themselves
暴 [ボウ・あばれる] – violence; outburst;…
SwimBikeRen: Do it so slowly that it fails. →
swimbikeren:
I’m not a fast swimmer.
Much like everything else I do, I swim rather slowly. I’m a fairly strong swimmer, but I would not consider myself fast.
My budo teacher has told me time and again that when you are working on something that involves multiple details that it is often helpful to do it…
Happy New Year! →
Did you know that 2011 is a prime number? Do you know what numerological significance this has for the upcoming 365 ¼ days? None. Numerology is bullshit.
Happy New Year from all of us in the…
Happy New Year →
سنة جديدة سعيدة!
謹賀新年！
新年快樂！
Bonne année et bonne santé!
Ein glückliches neues Jahr!
Ευτυχισμένο το Νέο Έτος!
해피 뉴 이어!
С Новым Годом!
Felix sit annus novus!
Geishun →
迎春 [げいしゅん] – New Year’s Greetings
迎 [ゲイ・むかえる] – to welcome, to greet
春 [シュン・はる] – spring (season)
昨年中は大変お世話になりました。今年も宜しくお願い致します！
12月 2010
5件の投稿
Oomisoka →
大晦日 [おおみそか] – New Year’s Eve
大 [ダイ・おお-・おおきい] – big, large
晦 [カイ・つごもり・くらい・みそか] – disappear; dark
日 [ニチ・ジツ・ひ・-か] – day; sun
Happy Big Disappearing Sun… day!
Review: Taurus PT1911 (Update) →
At the end of October, I wrote a not-so-glowing review of my then-new Taurus PT1911. It is now two months later, and Taurus has finally gotten me the replacement extractor*. I had a…
Tantan →
淡々 [たんたん] – disinterest; indifference
淡 [タン・あわい] – thin; pale; fleeting
々 – symbol that indicates repetition of the previous character
To me, the kanji 淡 is a great example of how understanding…
Status Update →
This semester is finally winding down. Or, rather, “winding up.” Multiple papers due, studying, finals, etc. If you’ve been to graduate school, you know what I’m talking about. I’ll write more after…
Ren Does Life: Just a little reflection... →
rendoeslife:
I did used to be a vegetarian who wouldn’t run.
In fact, every time, in the past, that i have gotten really sick of being overweight, I have turned to a vegan diet. I always thought it was the answer to all my weight problems. And while I will give eating a raw vegan diet credit for a large…
11月 2010
4件の投稿
Tōhyō →
投票 [とうひょう] – voting; poll
投 [トウ・なげる] – to throw; to invest in
票 [ヒョウ] – ballot; ticket
Did you throw in your ballot yesterday?
Voted →
Vote →
Sokuji →
即時 [そくじ] – prompt; immediate; in real time
即 [ソク・つく] – instant; as-is
時 [ジ・とき] – time
10月 2010
2件の投稿
Review: Taurus PT1911 →
Social Vote @foursquare @twitter →
12月 2009
17件の投稿
[WotD]: senrihin →
I’ve decided to change “Today’s Japanese” to [WotD] (Word of the Day). Hope you don’t mind.
戦利品 [せんりひん] – spoils of war; booty (yarrr!)
戦 [セン・いくさ] – war; battle
利 [リ・きく] – profit; advantage;…
Word of the Day: merikuri →
メリクリ is a shortened form of メリー・クリスマス (”Merry Christmas”) which is often used in text messages for brevity. The Japanese seem to be fond of abbreviating words in this manner. For instance, the band…
Grammar: affixes →
Let’s take a journey into the world of Japanese grammar. Before you groan too loudly, what I intend to with this series of articles differs from what you may be accustomed to if your exposure to…
Today’s Japanese: koushounin →
交渉人 [こうしょうにん] – negotiator
交 [コウ・かわす] – mingle, mix, associate
渉 [ショウ・わたる] – ford, ferry, port
人 [ジン・ニン・ひと] – person
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Today’s Japanese: fuyukai →
不愉快 [ふゆかい] – discomfort; unpleasantness; unhappiness;
不 [フ・ブ] – not; negative; non-
愉 [ユ・たのしい] – happy; pleasure
快 [カイ・こころよい] – cheerful; agreeable
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Today’s Japanese: kotsuzui →
骨髄 [こつずい] – marrow; true spirit
骨 [ほね] – bone
髄 – [ズイ] – marrow
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Today’s Japanese: jibou jiki →
自暴自棄 [じぼうじき] – desperation, despair
This 四字熟語 [よじじくご] or 4-character compound comprises the characters 自 (self) 暴 (violence) 自 (self) 棄 (abandon).
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Today’s Japanese: otoko myouri →
男冥利 [おとこみょうり] – the advantage of having been born male
Today’s phrase is an interesting one that I heard for the first time just the other day (thanks, Yuki). It is made up of the characters 男…
Today’s Japanese: fukujoushi →
腹上死 [ふくじょうし] – death during sex
This phrase is made up of the characters: 腹 (belly) 上 (on top of) 死 (die). I think it’s pretty self-explanatory, don’t you?
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Auctioneers Creep Me Out →
Auctioneers creep me out. I don’t know exactly why. Maybe it’s because I’m afraid they want to eat me. Maybe it’s because they remind me of my former life in Iowa. Auctioneers are big in Iowa. Not…